Proverbs 17:21
Some of the greatest pains in life come from
children who go the wrong direction. It can cut deeper than you can imagine.
Your hopes and dreams of the future, of your children doing better than you
did, can all go out the window in a few short moments during a bad choice.
Part
of growing up is finding your identity. This usually is in full force during
the teen years. We recognize it as rebellion and disobedience. It is part of
the “leaving” process outlined in Genesis chapter three. They leave in order to
be united with a spouse. It is essential that they learn to make decisions and
accept the consequences. As parents we all pray they survive!
The
problem is we are imperfect parents parenting imperfect children imperfectly in
an imperfect world. With all this imperfection we have a recipe for disaster.
The real question is: how do any children make it out OK! Our world is broken
and on a downward spiral. That anyone would find God’s grace and reverse their
course is a miracle.
There
is so much against children surviving. Our culture teaches rebellion. Our educational
system is bent against godliness. The media preaches godless abandon. We live
in a post-Christian society where there are no rights and wrong. Justice rarely
exists and in recent days there has been an uptick in lawlessness as
demonstrated in the flash mobs of retail stores and “knockout” violence. This
doesn’t even touch on the character of church members where the difference
between them and society is rapidly being erased. Church people have as many
divorces and non-churched!
Having
a rebellious child breaks the heart of a loving parent. So many turn the pain
inward, blaming themselves for their child’s behavior. Even the best Christian
families have rebellious children! Some of the most rebellious families produce
Christlike children. That is because God’s grace makes the different. When
grace is active, people turn around. And we don’t control grace. Grace is
received, it can’t be earned or passed from one generation to the next.
So
what can we take from our proverb today? If your child is rebelling, your
feelings of pain and grief are normal. You are not alone. Continue to pray.
Grace worked in your life; grace can work in theirs. Love at all times.
Sometimes love means letting them sit in jail or rehab or under a bridge.