Daily Journal: 13 December
Updated: 2 days ago
Look After Our Own
We naturally look after our own. Most people have an internal drive to look after and help the little ones they bring into this world.
From babyhood to adulthood, we usually have no other family, no other institution, and no other authority. We are where it begins and ends for our own. That's how it should be.
We stand guard, we watch over, we check in, we have conversations with, we share intimate details that others aren’t privileged to know, we provide for, we support, we encourage, we protect, we guide, and we hedge. Sometimes with a trembling heart, sometimes with a fierce heart, sometimes with a bemused heart, always with a full heart.
God insists it should be that way.
1 Timothy 5:8 (NASB)
But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
We should never stop looking after our own first, fighting for our own first, and ensuring they have a God-given place in this world.
In the same way, God is always for us as we are for our own.
Mark 9:42 (NCV)
“If one of these little children believes in me, and someone causes that child to sin, it would be better for that person to have a large stone tied around his neck and be drowned in the sea.
God is jealous over His children. His perfect, pure, avenging love is the foundation stone for us to build on. It is important we know that. It is important our children know that.
Isaiah 42:3 (NLT)
He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.
What do we need to do to ensure the spiritual and emotional well-being of our own?
We need to know we are stewards. Our children are first His children. He has given them to us to usher into a place of spiritual and emotional maturity. Understanding His righteous love does not mean our perfection, but our obedient thanksgiving. It's a different posture we take.
Psalm 37:23 (NIV)
The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him;
Even when we have to do hard things, He instructs us in the way we should go. Even when we feel uncertain, He makes our steps sure.
Trusting in Him as we take each step is what we need to learn to do best.
Psalm 37:5-6 (NIV)
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.
Are you holding the people you call your own too tightly, or are you helping to facilitate them through life with a gentle hold, knowing they belong first, to God?
Lord, thank you that you are our role model. You love those we love more than we do and know the way they will take. You will make all things beautiful in its time. We trust you with them and thank you that we can.
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