This Sunday is Mother’s Day. That has me thinking about parenting …
Parents LOVE their children (at least they should). They want to take care of their children and give them good gifts, encourage them, and provide for their basic needs.
Parents also want to AIM their children (at least they should). They want to train them to understand right from wrong, and how to excel at life. Living with their children for 18 years, puts parents in the optimal spot to shepherd their child’s hearts toward green pastures. Parents make and enforce rules, set consequences, and train kids on how to live.
But what about Grandparents?
Well, in modern American life, children often grow up in a different area code from their grandparents. They see them only occasionally. This is not the case for all, but for many, the infrequency of interaction leads to a different kind of relationship.
Grandparents LOVE their grandchildren (at least most do). They cheer them on from a distance, hang their pictures in their homes, attend big events, and lavish them with gifts whenever possible. Grandparents often do not directly AIM their grandchildren. They merely are in a supportive role to those raising their grandchildren. This means (at times) the rules get broken when Grandma is in town. Ice cream before dinner? No way on a random Tuesday, but when Grandma visits? Why not!
Now these are gross generalities. I know many grandparents who are raising their grandchildren (for a variety of reasons) and I know many others who have a more active role in AIMING their grandkids due to proximity or other factors. But, you get the general trend.
Now, why do I share this with you today?
Sometimes people view God the Father and God the Son as operating at odds with one another. God the Father, in His holiness and justice sets standards designed to AIM us and enforces consequences when we get out of line. And God the Son (Jesus)? Well, He spoils us with ice cream for dinner! In this understanding, the Father = firm, the Son = fun … the Father = Law, and the Son = Love.
And what about the Spirit? (Remember there is a Trinity after all!)
This Sunday at Wildwood Community Church, we will explore this conversation in part 3 of our series on the Holy Spirit and the Believer, “Fired Up.” In this week’s message we will look at John 13:34-35 and 15:5 to see a (maybe) surprising truth: Jesus did not lower the bar on God’s standards, but actually clarified for us just how high His standard really is! Jesus does not suspend the rules, lowering them to the level of our base desires, He actually raises our eyes to His glorious standard, and calls us to follow Him all the way to the top.
While this entire sermon series is really a single thought spread out over 7 messages, the next two weeks ESPECIALLY work together. This Sunday we will see what God is really asking of us. Only when we understand the life we are called to live do we understand the significance of Jesus’ statement in John 15:6, “apart from Me, you can do nothing.” When we see how high the bar is, we realize we need some serious help to get over the top! So, after this week’s examination of how Jesus has clarified just how high the bar is, NEXT WEEK we will talk about the Spirit’s provision to help us live the God glorifying life!
God the Father and God the Son love us AND aim us AND make it possible (through God the Spirit) for us to live the life He is aiming us towards. We will see this great truth over the next two Sundays. Hope you can join us … and bring friends to our 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 worship services.