As a parent, and particularly as a Christian parent, I want my children to know how amazing they are and are meant to be. Most of all, I want them to be secure in knowing that they can never do anything to cause God or their parents to stop loving them.
When I was a young person, I struggled with self-esteem and with what I perceived to be the view of other Christians towards me. Those self-doubts lingered into my thirties, when I struggled with the reasons I was suffering chronic pain. The main reason that I felt less than accepted by others has to do not only with their words and actions, but more than that, with my misconceptions about God.
I was taught that God "saved" me when I invited Jesus to be my Lord. The problem was, I kept struggling to do the right things. Unfortunately, the same theology that taught "once saved, always saved", and "saved by faith alone" left me doubtful of my salvation when I struggled with sin in my life. I didn't know how to restore my relationship with God apart from a "rededication" of my life, and walking down the aisle over and over again seemed like a hollow gesture. I even knew people who were "rebaptized".
The good news for me came when I realized that is not how we were meant to do this thing called the Christian Life. Jesus knew, having been human himself, that we would struggle with sin as long as we lived on Earth. He built restoration into the way that the Church operates. After the resurrection, He started with Peter. Not only did He forgive Peter for denying Him, He fully restored Peter to the position He had given him as Head of the Church. (John 21:15-19). Jesus wants us to be fully restored and for us to move forward with the things we are called to without looking back. My children need to know that their past will not be held over them, that they can always do today well even if they failed miserably yesterday.
Children need to know that we believe in them. They need to know that they were made good, and that they can choose to do good even when it is difficult. They need to know we will be there to help them when the right choice is the hard choice. They need to know how proud we are when they make the right choices, and that a mistake will never negate that.
The Church offers grace to us and to our children through the sacraments. It is important to take them to Mass each Sunday and day of holy obligation. It is important for them to receive Communion. It is important to take them to church for Confession regularly so that they can keep their consciences clean. It is important to pray with them and pray for them. We must talk to them and pray for the things that concern them because that is how they learn to look to God for grace when they are struggling. We must speak about the scriptures and help them apply the teachings of Jesus to their daily lives.
The wisdom of the scriptures can be of great benefit to our children.
The most important things we give our children are not material; they are spiritual truths that will help them when they struggle. Those spiritual truths will help them to be their best selves; help them embrace the people they are meant to be. Those spiritual truths will help them find restoration and inner peace when they make mistakes. Those spiritual truths will inform them of their true value when others put them down or denigrate their efforts.
I want my children, and all children for that matter, to grow up to know how very valued, loved and unique they are. I want them to be able to shine as the amazing creatures they have always been and always will be.
No comments:
Post a Comment