Conflicts & Problems: Pass them on or Hold on

In small group last night we were talking about how we could be more loving to people around us, especially our enemies. We discussed how we need to be strengthened by God and real Agape love only flows from God.

We really must tap into the Lord daily for life to flow from us. He is the source of life. God is love. The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We can not attain these things in the correct manner or full capacity without God.

A thought cam to my mind in referencing our need to go to the Lord with everything. He asks that we lay our burdens at his feet, seek his wisdom, rest in Him, etc. He is our Father who loves us and has plans for us and desires for us to have a fullfilled life.

I thought about how when you are a parent and your children have issues amongst each other or with their friends and at first when they are toddlers you handle the problems teaching them what is proper and improper in how to behave and how to treat others. As they grow, the children run to you so trusting and so freely handing over their problems to you desiring for you to solve them. We get to the point where we tell them, handle the problem yourself. I don't want to deal with it. Stop hitting each other, you know better, be nice, say kind words, no throwing stuff, share toys, etc etc etc... typical parent to child lingo. We get tired of being burdened by such trivial matters that we feel don't call for intervention.

So kids grow up, learning to handle their own problems, which is good because they can not rely on someone else to fix everything for them for the rest of their life. They need to grow up and become responsible, right? But at the same time, if we have not taught them the correct way to figure out the wise choice for whatever obstacle, problem, fight, mishap, decision, etc that comes their way, they might not be successful in defeating it or solving it in the way that will glorify the Lord and benefit their life and the lives of the others involved.

We as adults a lot of times want to hold on to our problems thinking we know what to do or can figure it out. We don't run to God as much as we should. We don't run to Him trusting and freely handing over our struggles to him, like our young children do to us. He so desires for us to come to Him! He wants us to seek Him. He wants us to lay it all down. We try to do it in our own power, in our own wisdom and get frustrated and depressed and bitter, etc when things do not go right. We wonder why we cant be smart enough or able enough. We think we should be.

The great thing is that we don't have to be. We have a loving Father who always has time for us, who is always available, who is always willing to jump in and take control, who will always lead us into truth, who will always forgive us, who will guide us, disciple us, mold us, grow us, etc.

If we were not raised to know those things, if we were not taught to run to the Lord, to bring Him everything, to lay our life and our struggles at his feet, then it will probably be hard to get to that point where we do it automatically. But I pray if you are not doing that right now as of today, start! Make today the day where you abide in Him, seek, Him, run to Him and let Him love you.

And if you have children may you start today, if not doing so already, teaching them how to turn to God. Showing them how to pray, building their relationship with Him, knowing they can access the God of this universe to guide them into all truth and he will mend their heart and heal their soul. Teach them to pray for a forgiving heart, to better love the people around them, to draw closer to God, for wisdom to root and grow inside them, etc.

The answer isnt just, dont hit, share, be nice, etc. The answer is in teaching them those truths that can be found in the scriptures but also including the important aspect of prayer and the awesome power that is found in it. Teach them to understand what happens when we disobey, how the devil gets a foothold, how it hurts their heart and the heart of others, how love falls away and bitterness sets in, how everyone is broken and hurting and desiring love no matter how they act. Don't just mention what to do and not to do, but explain the truth behind it and then go to God together about it. Then as they grow they can know the answer is to seek God, not having to run to you first, or anyone else in the world who might lead them astray. God needs to be our first contact. He is our refuge. We all want whats best for our children and so does God. His ways are perfect because He knows us as humans. He knows how we work, how we think, how we feel, etc. He made us. You as a parent do not have to know all the answers, nobody does. Yet as you can always seek the Lord as a family.