Cold and Flu

Grace

The Grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 1 Corinthians 16:23

From Moments with You, by Dennis & Barbara Rainey

Far too frequently, we hear about the indiscretion of a public figure or religious leader being exposed in some kind of tabloid-style news. For a few days, the person’s name and all the titillating details are near the top of every news broadcast.

How should Christian parents handle these kinds of reports? Ask these questions because, the way we discuss things around the dinner table can have longer-lasting implications for our kids than we realize. When we rant about what these individuals have done, judging them with little grace or calling them names and considering them despicable, what does that say to our teenagers about what they can expect if they ever need to come to us and confess some secret sin?

Whether we like to think it or not, our children all struggle with sinful desires. They are growing up in a world riddled with promiscuity, drugs, alcohol, pornography, gluttony, and dozens of other addictions and seductions. Even if they never act on all these temptations, their human desires cause them the same difficulties from day to day as ours do.

But if they know that your response to human guilt is abrupt and merciless, what will they likely say to themselves if they mess up badly in the future? Your children should know that if they ever fail morally, you will not intervene to spare them from the consequences.  But they should also know that no matter how they fall, there is always grace in your household. They are always safe in your embrace, they can never slip so far away that your love won’t still be there to reach out to them and welcome them home.

Pray-that you and your family will be a safe harbor of forgiveness, grace, and hope for those who fail.