A Parent's Example

I have encountered one of the members of the staff at our church, Tom Elkin, in several different ways over the last few months. It's been good to get to visit with him in the halls of the church. He also preached on Wednesday nights during the summer and taught our Sunday School class during the same period of time.

Although his topics were varied, I continued to hear a theme throughout the lessons. “Parents, teach you children responsibility by allowing them to understand and experience the consequences of life.” I know it’s not exactly what Tom was saying but it is certainly what my heart was hearing.

In that context, I was struck by a train of thought I had when I read an online devotional today. There were two scriptures that stood out to me:

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” – John 13:34

"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” – John 15:9

To follow the thought in reverse, Jesus learned to love us by experiencing the love of His Father and Jesus wants us learn to love each another by experiencing and emulating His love for us.

To be blunt, God’s love for Jesus was “tough love” in its highest form. Jesus was sent with the purpose of suffering the consequences of our sin in our place. Despite the fact that He was perfect and Holy and eternally beloved by His Father, He was “allowed” to experience the consequences of His life and purpose.

How painful it must have been for God to see His Son suffer. As a parent, I know that I could not have allowed one of my girls to suffer so much, even knowing the greater good that would result. That is the broken humanity in me. Yet, God’s strength stands as an example of how we should care for our children. We should love and cherish them so much that we are willing to allow them to experience the consequences of life and the results of their actions.

I don’t know that Tom will ever read this. If he does, I want him to know that the message is being heard and I’m reading it in the words of God’s Holy Scripture too. Thanks for the kick start, Tom.