Over the past few weeks, I've been mulling over how to teach my children about those with differences from a biblical perspective. I've been amazed how praying for my eyes to be opened so I can find out how to teach my children, has been much more about changing me. God has slowly been transforming my old ideas and giving more of His heart for all of His children.
A few weeks ago, Julie dropped into my life via BSF. We'd already had the opportunity to meet on a few occasions through a mutual friend, but now I had a chance to get to know her heart. Her heart is one set on adoption. God has set apart their super-sweet family to add one more to their brood in a way not dissimilar to the way God adds us to His family. Immediately, she asked for prayer in wisdom and guidance for whom to adopt. What a weighty decision to be faced with... so when she posted this last night, I could see how God has been working in her heart the past few weeks, but also, what she wrote also struck a chord in my own heart.
"Satan has built a variety of attributes/lies into our culture regarding the assignment of worth . . . and I have bought into them more than I ever realized. They are: beauty, intelligence, and achievement. Society gives more worth and more attention to pretty people-they are treated differently. Parents feel guilty if their kids aren't intelligent. We are told we are only as good as what we accomplish."
Ouch! These attributes which the world values... I have also valued. How many times have I been puffed up with pride at my daughter's beauty or my sons' accomplishments? Do they mean anything? No. They are temporal not eternal... and they could easily be taken away tomorrow through accident or illness. But Julie continues:
"Regardless of what special needs she may or may not possess, may the unchanging, unconditional love of God flood our chosen child's heart and define her worth. May we be faithful to teach her eternal values and demonstrate to her a glimmer of unconditional love."
Amen, Julie! Case in point? This little guy, Jude Matthew, who last week went to be with his loving Father. His life was too short to accomplish anything noteworthy by world standards. He will never be heralded by this world the way someone like Steve Jobs was. But I find so much worth in Jude-- an eternal worth! You see, with the exception of my own children, Jude has challenged my spiritual walk more than any other child through his parent's blog. God has used Jude to draw people to Himself and He has used Jude to transform them into someone more like Himself and that is full of worth! That is what I want to develop in my own children... a sense of worth found in Christ and bringing glory to His name.
This is the lesson that I need to learn before I am able to teach it to my children. I want to be (and then, my children to be) like the lame man in Act 14 who was so full of faith that Paul was able to see it just by looking at him! I want my own children to learn to find their worth in God, so it can never be stripped away from them! I desire to model that to them by putting my faith in God and finding my value in Him... nothing else!
But Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ and to know that I belong to him. I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ. -Philippians 3:7-9 (CEV)
A few weeks ago, Julie dropped into my life via BSF. We'd already had the opportunity to meet on a few occasions through a mutual friend, but now I had a chance to get to know her heart. Her heart is one set on adoption. God has set apart their super-sweet family to add one more to their brood in a way not dissimilar to the way God adds us to His family. Immediately, she asked for prayer in wisdom and guidance for whom to adopt. What a weighty decision to be faced with... so when she posted this last night, I could see how God has been working in her heart the past few weeks, but also, what she wrote also struck a chord in my own heart.
"Satan has built a variety of attributes/lies into our culture regarding the assignment of worth . . . and I have bought into them more than I ever realized. They are: beauty, intelligence, and achievement. Society gives more worth and more attention to pretty people-they are treated differently. Parents feel guilty if their kids aren't intelligent. We are told we are only as good as what we accomplish."
Ouch! These attributes which the world values... I have also valued. How many times have I been puffed up with pride at my daughter's beauty or my sons' accomplishments? Do they mean anything? No. They are temporal not eternal... and they could easily be taken away tomorrow through accident or illness. But Julie continues:
"Regardless of what special needs she may or may not possess, may the unchanging, unconditional love of God flood our chosen child's heart and define her worth. May we be faithful to teach her eternal values and demonstrate to her a glimmer of unconditional love."
Amen, Julie! Case in point? This little guy, Jude Matthew, who last week went to be with his loving Father. His life was too short to accomplish anything noteworthy by world standards. He will never be heralded by this world the way someone like Steve Jobs was. But I find so much worth in Jude-- an eternal worth! You see, with the exception of my own children, Jude has challenged my spiritual walk more than any other child through his parent's blog. God has used Jude to draw people to Himself and He has used Jude to transform them into someone more like Himself and that is full of worth! That is what I want to develop in my own children... a sense of worth found in Christ and bringing glory to His name.
This is the lesson that I need to learn before I am able to teach it to my children. I want to be (and then, my children to be) like the lame man in Act 14 who was so full of faith that Paul was able to see it just by looking at him! I want my own children to learn to find their worth in God, so it can never be stripped away from them! I desire to model that to them by putting my faith in God and finding my value in Him... nothing else!
But Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ and to know that I belong to him. I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ. -Philippians 3:7-9 (CEV)
2 comments:
Such a heartbreaking story. The parents are so strong in their faith.
Teaching children about differences can be so hard. We have an adopted son with disabilties. They aren't visual and that can be so hard. What we have gone through is unbelievable. People don't understand at all. Bless you for trying to teach your children.
Wow, what an amazing read. I teared up about half way through! Amazing interpretation by you!
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