Nothing Greater, Nothing Better

 

 As a father of three young children, finding the balance of how to discipline in love is a great adventure.  As a friend mention to me at lunch today, kids go through stages of development and navigating their stage of development requires new GPS settings every day.  Both of my twin children are a hand full, but my son Daniel right now is really challenged when it comes to following instructions.  Yet it seems that his disregard of instructions is not really rebellion, often it is just curiosity.  Daniel is curious about everything and sometimes directions get lost when he is really focused on something he is curious about.  Yet during these times when he is lost in his own world, I can get impatient and my voice can have "an edge".  When I'm tired, the edge becomes particularly evident.  Sadly, sometimes I can have an edge with people too.  When travelling through life, I often project onto God my own moods and attitudes and often wonder if God "has an edge toward me". Which brings me back to my kids...I wonder what my kids see as the "main thing" as they see my life.  As they hear my tone of voice, listen to my words and see my actions, I wonder what they are catching as the "main thing". As they tear around our church building during the week and among the congregation on Sunday morning and look into the faces of people and overhear conversations, I wonder what they soak in as the "main thing"?

This past week, our staff started on a new book by David Jeremiah called "God Loves You, He always has-always will".   One of my  favorite stories in this book relates to theologian Karl Barth.  Karl Barth was a renowned theologian after WW II who wrote a 14 volume theological work called Church Dogmatics. During his lifetime, Barth was considered one of the world's most renowned  Christian theologians and thinkers.  His writings and books published were extensive.  Barth once travelled to America and during one of Barth's trips to America in the early 1960's, Barth visited the University of Chicago for a time of "question and answer" with students, faculty and the media.  University of Chicago is known for high academics and vigorous intellectual thinking, and a university student asked Barth, "of all the vast theological truths you have explored and the theological research you have engaged in, what is the most profound theological discovery you have unearthed?" Barth replied, "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so".  While I am paraphrasing the student's question, Barth's answer was crystal clear. The simple truth of God's love for sinners is one of the most profound truths of Scripture. It is life changing and the center of the Bible's storyline, "God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son".  When we understand this truth, it melts a heart of cynicism, it thaws a spirit of harshness, and it disassembles a spirit of self righteousness and pride.  This is the good news that Martin Luther said, "we should pound into our heads continually", this good news of the gospel.

Often in the Christian life, we can get so focused on behavior, that we forget about belief.  Yet at the center, Christianity is about what we believe.  Our behavior then flows out of our beliefs.  When we believe God loves us, we are secure and less anxious, harsh, and worried.  When we are secure that God Loves You (me), we are less controlling and more hopeful that actions of disobedience will subside as God's love melts the hardness of rebellion.  As I put my kids to bed each night, one thing I try to say to them every night is that "I love you and God loves you".  I hope that will be the legacy I leave my kids as they reflect on the main message of my life.