April 9, 2007

Verse of the Day:
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” (1 John 3:16)

I've been reading John Piper's book, God is the Gospel, for quite some time now. There's so much meat in the book that in order to not miss a bite, I only read 2 or 3 pages per sitting, which is why it's taking me so long to finish the book. Yet, I always feel so refreshed and challenged after each reading. Anyway, on Russurrection Day Sunday I sat down to read from his book a little and I felt refreshed and challenged.

The pathway to Christ-likeness is "beholding the glory of the Lord."...We are transformed "into the...image" of the Lord by means of fixing our attention on his glory...This is the way the Holy Spirit does his ongoing change in us. He does not change us directly, he changes us by enabling us to see the glory of Christ...We are transformed into Christ's image-that's what sanctification is-by steadfast seeing and savoring the glory of Christ...The work of the Holy Spirit in changing us is not to work directly on our bad habits but to make us admire Jesus Christ so much that sinful habits feel foreign and distasteful.

Doesn't that all sound so good? Yet, even though I was refreshed and challenged by what I read, I didn't transfer this conviction into my heart.

I was quite annoyed with DearDaughter today. She was just very whiny and cranky. She didn't take her nap on the way home from grocery shopping, which she normally does and that gives me time to put away the groceries and rest some by myself. She was whiny in the store so to keep her occupied I gave her my new watch and she dropped and broke it. She was very stubborn and cranky and didn't want to eat her lunch or dinner. Everything DearDaughter did today just pushed all of my wrong buttons and I failed miserably and sinned against her and against the Lord!

I yelled at her, I cursed under my breath, and I couldn't stop thinking about beating DearDaughter into submission. All the while, I knew that what I was doing was wrong and I didn't care.

I just had so much to do on my agenda. The only thing I needed to do today was to go grocery shopping and to do my daily chores. However, I was motivated to work on my laundry room project and I let my own desire to finish what I set off to accomplish get in the way of being like Christ. To me, DearDaughter's whiny and cranky attitude was keeping me from finishing what I wanted, thus in my mind she was doing everything wrong and she was pushing my wrong buttons. It was ALL because of DearDaughter that I sinned...Well, did I really need to go back to the store to purchase bins or could I have done that on Tuesday? Could I have taken a step back and assess the situation and consider why DearDaughter was whiny and cranky and consider what I needed to do to help her be more content? Maybe she just needed a little more Mommy time than what I had given to her, which was barely any at all. Did I need to be so focused on ME that even DearDaughter didn't matter?

We are to love like Christ loved us. He laid down his life so that we may live. Was I loving like Jesus, laying down my life?

Every night, DearHusband and I pray to be worthy parents, exemplifying how to live a godly life by displaying our reverence and our love to God. What sort of example did I set today?

As John Piper said, "We are transformed into Christ's image-that's what sanctification is-by steadfast seeing and savoring the glory of Christ." I know why I haven't been as loving to either my DearHubby or DearDaughter lately. I haven't been steadfastly seeing and savoring the glory of Christ. Even though we just celebrated Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, I didn't allow the fullness of the gospel to melt my soul and so my heart was and is hard.

Dear Lord,
Forgive me for this hardened heart that causes me to forget your splendor, majesty, and glory. Help me keep my soul in the light so that I may see and savor the glory of Christ and in turn lay down my own life for those I love. Thank you Lord that you offer forgiveness freely and that despite the horrible sins we commit against you, you are gracious and you still call us yours. Thank you for the privilege of calling me into this ministry of being a wife and mother. Help me God to fulfill this calling by your will and not my own.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.