Ok, this has been a full week of talking about risk. Dwayne is being bombarded with lots of information about risk, he is reading "The One thing you can't do in Heaven", he has been looking up information online, then the sermon...all about risk. I enjoyed a bible study on Monday where we talked about a woman in the bible who took risks, Rahab, we talked about others who have taken risks in today's world and in the past. Talked about if we would take those risks, if we would want our children to take risks. Our small group discussed the sermon last night. Through all this I keep thinking back to a book that Dwayne and I read some time ago, I can't remember the name, but I just kept remembering a section where it talked about Jesus praying in the garden. It talks about Him praying for us not to separate ourselves from the world, but prayed for us to be protected from the world. Anyways, I have kept thinking about this, I keep talking about it to others about it as we talk about risk, but I never knew the exact verse. So, today when I was reading my daily online devotional, what chapter is being used? The one I have been thinking of, so I went to biblegateway.com and looked it up and here it is...
This has always been a reminder to me, especially when I am thinking and praying for my children. So often our first response is to protect our children, keep them safe, build a separate world for them, let them only experience what we think is good for them, but some day...no matter what we do, they are leaving our house, they are going into the world, they have to be equipped to handle the world and the world views. We really need to be working on helping them build a strong faith, showing them through our actions that we can live for Christ in the real world, remind them when they are having a hard time dealing with other kids or teachers at school that they need to stop and think what is causing this person to act this way, what is their home life like, do they know God, and how can they show Christ to this person in their own actions. It is so much easier to think this than it is to live it. I fail so often, but just when I think I am really messing up, then one of my kiddos will say something or talk about how they are handling something at school, and it feels like they are getting it somewhere. Now, I am just wondering how God wants me to take risks...more risks.
John 17:15
"My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one."
"My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one."
This has always been a reminder to me, especially when I am thinking and praying for my children. So often our first response is to protect our children, keep them safe, build a separate world for them, let them only experience what we think is good for them, but some day...no matter what we do, they are leaving our house, they are going into the world, they have to be equipped to handle the world and the world views. We really need to be working on helping them build a strong faith, showing them through our actions that we can live for Christ in the real world, remind them when they are having a hard time dealing with other kids or teachers at school that they need to stop and think what is causing this person to act this way, what is their home life like, do they know God, and how can they show Christ to this person in their own actions. It is so much easier to think this than it is to live it. I fail so often, but just when I think I am really messing up, then one of my kiddos will say something or talk about how they are handling something at school, and it feels like they are getting it somewhere. Now, I am just wondering how God wants me to take risks...more risks.
2 comments:
This really is a powerful post. So many times we do forget that the importance is builing a strong faith base. An unstable foundation will make house a house crumble... Good words!!! -Mindy
Love this post!
Praying for protection while in THIS world, not just making a NEW, safe world. Good point!
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