Run to God

Note: Okay, I know most of my posts lately have been on discipline....no idea why. I think God is trying to tell me something!

Today was a different sort of Sunday. Tornado warning sirens kept me from jumping in the shower and then a fresh wave of rain dumped on me when I finally did manage to get ready and brave the elements to get to church. Once there, we had a shortened service due to the incoming storm. Simply worship and communion - but that was enough for God to speak something to my heart.

As we worshipped, I got this mental image of Jesus standing there and me running to Him - knowing I had done wrong but wanting nothing more than to bury my face in His robes and feel him wrap His arms around me in a loving embrace. I was overwhelmed with the desire to confess to Him all that I had done wrong, knowing it was against Him that I had sinned...and yet He still forgives. My desire to be close to Him was so much greater than my guilt and fear - I wanted nothing to stand in my way of being with Him.

I got to thinking about how much I want to discipline and correct my children the same way Christ disciplines me. It is natural to want to run and hide from authority when we know we have done wrong. You only have to look at Adam and Eve to find an example of this, yet running away and hiding is exactly what we do NOT need to do. When we run TO Christ, we find forgiveness and a new start....AGAIN! I emphasize "again" because I find I have to do this over and over. ( I wonder what would have happened if instead of playing the blame game, Adam and Eve would have run to their Father God for forgiveness?)

I want to not only remember to run to Christ, I want to learn to walk in forgiveness LIKE Christ. Even if the person who has wronged me doesn't ask or receive the forgiveness, it is there...waiting for them. Change me, Lord, to be more like You.

I also want to instill in my children this picture of forgiveness. I want to help them realize that when they run to me, they can FEEL the release. I want them to crave that more than they fear the consequences of their actions. Knowing that I am just the parent God has placed here on earth, I want them to run not just to me, but to Christ. There they will find complete forgiveness and freedom.

For my children and myself, I want to remember that when I run to Him, He can calm the storm that rages inside of me. I do not need to cower or be afraid - He is waiting with open arms to welcome me and heal the damage I have done.

Not bad for a short service.

Genesis 3:8 - 13 (Message translation)
"When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.
⁹ God called to the Man: "Where are you?"
¹⁰ He said, "I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid."
¹¹ God said, "Who told you you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I told you not to eat from?"
¹² The Man said, "The Woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree, and, yes, I ate it."
God said to the Woman, "What is this that you've done?"
¹³ "The serpent seduced me," she said, "and I ate."

Psalm 37:39-40
³⁹ The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.

Correction for whose sake?

"That's it! I've had enough!" Ever said something along those lines when having to discipline your children?  I know I have and I'm starting to realize how out of line that has been! Since when is discipline an issue of the fact that I'VE had enough? Who am I supposed to be correcting?

I've been thinking about how God corrects and disciplines me. He doesn't let me go on and on until He's good and mad and about to blow. He corrects me for ME....because He loves me. Let that sink in a moment. He corrects me because He wants me to be mature, solid, strong, successful and most of all loving. He wants the character in HIM to be in ME. I'm pretty sure when I lose it with my kids the last thing on my mind is having the character of me in them.

Discipline and correction are acts of love, not exasperation. That will change the whole tone and action of my discipline if I understand this. When I correct, it won't be because I'm exhausted (although I often am), and it won't be because I'm embarassed by their behavior (although I often am). When I correct, it will be out of love for them. According to 1 Corinthians 13, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." This sounds like a pretty good way to approach correction my own children and those in my care.

Maybe we should look at some of the problems in our country right now as a result of a lack of love. If we truly love those around us, it doesn't make us soft and easily walked over. Love makes us strong because it is TOUGH to stand firm and say no sometimes. It shows love to deny the every passing demand of a child because we look not at their present desires but forward to what is best for them.

I know I will make mistakes in this....I am not God. Still, I want to look at the things I do for and with my children with their future in mind. I look for ways to say "yes" to them, but I also look for ways to help them learn from their mistakes....just like God does for me.

Loving correction isn't done for me....it's not because I've "had enough" of their bad behavior. It is done for them that they might have life and have it abundantly. That makes firm correction a lot easier to both give and receive. I'm actually not handing out "punishment", I'm handing out "love." What a difference that makes. (Not sure my children will see it that way, but children often don't see things clearly until they have grown and matured....which is my goal in the process.) I am not here for my children's comfort. I am here for their character, and that may mean they feel some "discomfort" along the way.

Wish I could say I will never again correct out of my need for peace and quiet, but I know that probably I will slip and say "I've had enough...." Still, I'm making progress. My Father has been correcting my way of thinking. He corrected me out of His unfailing love to see me mature and to care for His children.

Who says you can't teach an old gal new tricks? I'm holding on to this one because I see the difference it makes in me and those around me. Don't think I'll ever really get "enough" of that.

Proverbs 3:11-12 (Message)
"But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline;
don't sulk under his loving correction.
It's the child he loves that God corrects;
a father's delight is behind all this."

Hebrews 12:4-11 The Message (MSG)

^4-11"In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don't feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?
My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline,
but don't be crushed by it either.
It's the child he loves that he disciplines;
the child he embraces, he also corrects.
God is educating you; that's why you must never drop out. He's treating you as dear children. This trouble you're in isn't punishment; it's training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God's training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best. At the time, discipline isn't much fun. It always feels like it's going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God."