“Celebrate in trembling awe. Kiss Messiah!
Your very lives are in danger, you know;
His anger is about to explode,
But if you make a run for God—you won’t regret it!”
-Psalm 2:11-12 (the Message)
The fire of anger in my children clashed loudly like cymbals all morning. Everybody seemed to be on edge, and at each other’s throats.
The Lady made a cutting remark to her brother. He screamed at her, then smashed his head into hers.
A sobbing little girl stood before me, and I sought out the offender.
Blame was thrown back and forth, accusations made, and apologies slowly extracted from their lips. Then I asked the boy to pray and ask God to forgive him for hurting His daughter.
He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. That was much too hard.
Admitting fault? He could do that. Apologizing to his sister? Completely doable.
But telling God that he had hurt His little girl was not.
I understood the weight of that. Who can bear their guilt easily before a holy God?
“If you really want to experience ceasing from sin, you must come to Jesus.” -Oswald Chambers
Oh, that we would learn to kiss Messiah.
I have found that my end goal in parenting often falls short. I want them to be good: have good attitudes, a good work ethic, empathy for others, and love what is right.
I want it to be easy for them to be good. Mostly, I wish they would find it easy to follow Jesus, because I have often found it to be so very, very challenging.
But who can ever really follow Jesus if they haven’t acknowledged their own need for Him, and come unto Him?
Who kisses Messiah but the one who knows they have been forgiven much?
My goal in parenting can’t end at the doorway of their behavior. I must hold the hand of my broken-hearted children and lead them to Messiah. I must tell them to kiss His face, to thank Him for His mercy, and show them how I do the same.
Come to Jesus and cease from sin. Kiss Messiah and celebrate in trembling awe. He is our goal, our reward, our great King.
