“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,”

With apologies to my Calvinist friends, I find the word ‘if’ in this verse to be especially powerful. When my children knew the rules for their behavior, we expected them to follow them. The rules were set up for their benefit and safety. However, they still had to choose whether they were going to follow them. Solomon writes to his son, “if you accept my words.” We have the opportunity, moment by moment and day by day, to accept or reject God‘s truth in our lives. I feel pretty safe suggesting that we tend to do both at different times. Too often, we choose to accept only when it’s convenient or not particularly difficult. When it seems more to our liking, we may be prone to do that. Maturity in the faith is evident when we recognize there is never a good time to ignore God’s words. It’s not that we have merely learned about His discipline—although we certainly should have—but because we recognize His words were written to us purely from a motivation of unconditional love, the same love that sent His Son to die in our place on the cross. In the same way, our motivations for our children should be based on what is best for them, God’s always are, and with that in mind, listening and following them should become easier over time. Today, listen and learn. #BeTheEdge

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭105‬ ‭NIV‬‬