A month ago Lige and I were able to get away together for a week. Without the kids. Yes, it was a delight! While we didn't head off to a tropical resort or a cozy mountain get-away, our time in Louisville, at a ministry conference, was a great time for us. It was so wonderful to connect with my husband in many ways, completely uninterrupted by the necessities of every day life.
On the first day the conference offered four mini-sessions that were each an hour long. We could choose from many options each time slot. While they were all worthwhile, one really stood out to Lige and me. It was called Rite of Passage Parenting. There was so much packed into that session that I could share with you. I could tell you about the things Lige and I want to incorporate into our own parenting, but there is one part in particular I long to share today.
The speaker, Walker Moore, shared a parenting strategy his own family had employed in regards to putting your things away. Basically, they had their children sign a contract that if they failed to put away their things, any of their things-even the "good stuff", those items were considered to be of no value and would be donated. Always. No matter what!
I get this idea, even if it's hard for me and it causes me to go "yeah, but what about when...". However, this parenting principle isn't what I wanted to focus on. I really want to tell you about what happened after he shared this.
Mr. Moore further explained how not taking care of our things is a sign that we do not value them. Then he asked, "So what do we do with something that has no value?"
The entire room mumbled, "Throw it away."
Mr. Moore, with exuberant dismay, replied, "No! You redeem it. You take it to Good Will where it will become valuable again!"
God has been revealing some areas of faulty thinking in me. If you've read anything I've written in the past 5 years, my issues with INADEQUACY should be familiar to you.
I sinfully look at myself and determine I am of no value.
When asked what should be done with me, I answer, "Throw me away."
Every person in that conference room answered that we throw away that
which is of no value. Which leads me to believe there might be others with faulty thinking about redemption. I don't
believe I'm the only one who brashly and sinfully stands before my
crucified Savior and tells Him what He suffered on the cross was not enough. I can't be the only one who brazenly looks upon his
thorn-pierced brow and shouts, "How dare you find value in me."
This is my sin, gently and firmly pointed out by someone I respect and love. Every time I demean myself, I am declaring Christ's death and resurrection insufficient. Every time I focus on my failures and my weaknesses through the lens of qualifying merit, I proclaim that I am a better judge than the holy, all-powerful God of the universe. This must not be so.
When a faulty thought is exposed, it must be replaced by truth. "Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:5) Replacing faulty thoughts is a battle, and I have been building up "weapons" (truth from the Bible) to fight against my faulty thinking. For the past week or so, I have been reading and re-reading Romans 8:30-39. When I am tempted to tell God I am unfit, unworthy, and unlovable, I focus on verses 38-39:
" 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, (not even me myself), will be able to
separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (parenthetical, italicized words are not Scripture, but I add them to bring the point home in a personal way.)
In this season of thankfulness, I am thankful that God doesn't just throw me away when I mess up. I find myself grateful for my bold friend willing to call out my sin. I am grateful for a true and clear version of redemption. I am thankful that when I am found in Christ, I find exactly how valuable I am to Him, and love Him evermore.
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