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Philippians 4:4-5 Click to read

Having children is a continued practice in learning to be both patient and understanding. I can say with a great deal of confidence that I am not the most long suffering father. I am not always hesitant to correct or redirect my children to do as I want them to. I realize that sometimes rather than encouraging them with words of hope and joy, I simply reduce them to tears in their room away from the unyielding force of a man apart. But it is often my children who remind me that justice is not always the final say, that there is something even greater than justice.

Philippians 4:5 speaks of “gentleness” that is evident to all and I believe that my children have a better handle on this than I. The word is difficult to translate and many have done different things with it, but in the end the sense seems to be that we as believers should practice a form of giving what is due, unless what is due is not good enough. Isaiah 42:3 speaks to the spirit of His Servant “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” Many believe that this verse is part of a greater section of Scripture that speaks of the coming of Jesus some 700 years before he arrived. If this is true, then it is a great picture of who Jesus was and what he calls his children to be.

I learn from my children because at times they are great teachers. However, I believe that they are great teachers not as a result of great intellect or life experience. Rather, I sense that my children - like many others- desperately love their father no matter what. They want to believe that I love them, that I am really about them in every way. I sense that my children want to believe that no matter what my words may say or even my face might show - Dad is near and they just want to be with Him. And I sense this is how God would have us to see everyone. When we deal with other people, God's example is one of high importance. When Paul instructs the readers of his letter to act with gentleness, it would appear that he is saying continue to act in ways that go the extra mile. Don't simply return to others what they are due, at times you must go beyond what is due into the realm of extravagance. To a place that extends beyond what we deserve and into what is better. (Romans 3:21-26 Click to Read)

Soli Deo Gloria