Happy Valentine’s Day! I’ve been writing about love the last few
posts as we worked our way toward today. The scripture this morning is another
on love.
John
13:34-35 "A new command I give you:
Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this
everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
In my Sunday school class yesterday I read the kids a devotional
on grace. We had an open discussion on how they felt about when and to whom grace
should be given. It was not surprise to hear them say they thought a murderer
should not receive grace even if he confessed Jesus in the last hours of his
life. A lot of adults feel that way and pass on their beliefs whether they are
aware this is happening or not.
On a funny note, they did not feel their siblings should receive
grace if they started something that got them in trouble, too. And parents, if
you accuse your child of doing something and do not believe them when they say
they did not do it, you don’t deserve grace either…in their humble opinion, of
course.
The scripture above says a lot more than the words alone. In the
line, “As I have
loved you, so you must love one another” we are being told that we
are to love in a grace-giving way.
That blew the kids minds. Not only are they to love someone that
hurt them and/or offended but they are to love them with forgiveness and grace!
Egad!
“…By
this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another…”
We all make mistakes that need a healthy dose of grace and
forgiveness and we all tend to make excuses for our own bad behavior while we’re
busy pointing a finger at someone else. Not a great example of being Christ’s public
disciple as read in the scripture, is it?
In every teaching I do with my class I emphasize taking
responsibility for your own actions and decisions and owning them without making
excuses or finger pointing. We’ve adopted two class quotes on this. One, Josh
said his dad always says (Way to go, Dad!) and the other was learned from a
teacher (Way to go, Teachers!). We can all take a lesson from these quotes.
Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure.~ Jim Rohn
Never ruin an apology with an excuse. ~Kimberly Johnson
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