Being a father is a great job that I love, but when I examine myself and compare my words with reality I find flaws. There are times when the words I tell my kids to encourage them are only full of hot-air and empty encouragements. I don't believe I am alone in this. How many times have we told ourselves or others things like, "Just do your best and that will be good enough", or "You can do anything you put your mind to". The fact is, your best is not always good enough, and you can't do everything no matter how hard you try at anything.
Please don't miss understand me, I am not saying that we should then tell our kids the opposite; "Just give it your worst and call it good" or "You may as well give up because you will never get it." No, instead be encouraging but don't forget the grace that says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love." Kids will rarely rise above any expectations placed upon them on their own. they need that encouragement and prodding to go the extra mile and give the extra effort. God does this same thing with us.
God actually used hyperbole's too; he spoke in exaggerations and he used them to convey his expectations of us. He, in his way, told us "You can do anything you put your mind to". I Peter 1.16 says "Be holy as I am holy." Really, can we ever achieve the holiness of God? No, but we should do it or die trying. It is because we can never achieve this holiness that God sent his son to pay the debt of our lack of holiness; but still he instructs us to be holy to the same level that he is. This is no excuse then to give up on our holiness because we can never reach that level, or because we are already holy through by the grace of God, but it is a challenge to still give it our all and not give up on what is righteous.
God has set responsibilities for the true believers and they are of high expectations. This is his way of saying, "You can do anything you put your mind to." Philippians 4.13 says, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" as a testimony of Paul who believe that he could do anything he put his mind to by faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus himself said, "You will do greater things that I have done" as an encouragement that we shouldn't give up, but rather press on. We are facing a high bar, and through Jesus Christ we have the hope that we can live up to our expectations of the Father, not unto salvation, but unto the rewards offered in the Kingdom (I Corinthians 3.10-12).
Last summer I was determined my then 3 year old son was able to ride a two wheeler with not training wheels. Yes, I said 3 years old. He is quite smart and coordinated and I was certain that he could do it. We went to the thrift store and picked up a bike his size, found his helmet and headed to the parking lot of a local school. For the next 20 minutes my patience we put to the test and my back was throbbing as I ran along beside a very nervously excited little boy. All attempts seemed to fail and I started to see the fact that he was just simply to young and was not ready to ride with no training wheels, but what did I tell him, "You can do it. You can do it." I repeated that over and over while the seeming reality was that he could not do it. I told him, "Just keep telling yourself that you can do it" and "Give it your best." At times be would become discouraged and want to give up but I would encourage him that he could do it. Finally we went home, he had not done it. All we had done was discouraged a little boy and given myself a headache and back ache. No matter how much I fed him that "he could do it" he didn't, but he did know something, that I expected him to do it, and that I would personally help him learn how to ride his bike. We repeated this routine for next 2 days and he did indeed learn to ride the bike. What seemed to be an impossibility became possible through the care and encouragement of his Father. We to are watched and encouraged by the Heavenly Father and should strive to reach the responsibilities he has set before us.
No comments:
Post a Comment