No Mere Mortals

I'm doing the devotional at a baby shower tomorrow for a a friend having her 4th baby.  I honestly can't imagine what I could tell her about that.  The 3rd kid tipped the scale for me.  My orderly life got set on it's ear with that one.  But then we always have anywhere from just my 3 to 6 or 7 kids in our home.  I love that. And that I can send them home.  I absolutely believe that children are a blessing from the Lord.  He has used mine to shape me and mature me.  I have always been mindful of how the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.  We, as mothers, can impact our little communities to the larger global community by the way we raise our kids.  But recently I have been pondering a quote by C.S. Lewis, "There are no mere mortals."  It is amazing to think of how we can impact people for generations but even more amazing is the thought of how we impact eternities.  What a weighty thought.  Were it not for the infinite, matchless grace of Jesus I would be utterly overwhelmed.  To realize that the way I interact with my husband and children foremost has a direct effect on their eternities! Who am I?  Why would anyone give me that kind of power?  I will mess up.  It's one thing to carry the burden of a lifetime but so much more the eternity.  Fortunately, I am simply a tool in the Father's hand and it is He who shapes their destiny.
Unlike your average hammer and chisel, we are not inanimate, emotionless objects but flesh and blood emotional beings.   I almost wish I could be a lifeless object in the Father's hand but I have this will that I must keep surrendering to His in order to be most useful.  So as I consider the weight of the sacred trust I have been blessed with in my three children I have to consider what is required of me.  Those words remind me of a verse in Micah.  Micah 6:8 says "He has shown thee, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you, but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with Thy God.  I always go back to that verse when I am unsure of what to do and draw out the 3 main objectives:

1st~ Do justly.  I looked it up in the Strong's concordance and the idea is to be discerning and to make wise judgements.  How often are we as mother's of more than one child called on to make judgements.  My latest have had to do with the life altering decision of who gets to ride shotgun  than any other thing.  For younger kids it can be how long to nurse or whether or not to use a pacifier and for how long. There are those everyday issues and then as our children grow older there are the heart wrenching issues of relationships.  We have to be discerning in regards to what we allow in our homes and where we allow our kids to go, what music to let them listen to, what movies to see, what athletic events to participate in, to when they just need someone to listen to them until the burdens of their hearts begin to flow.  We must make wise judgements of our selves.  Are we setting the example out little ones need to see?  We have to do our best to do what we know is right.  Our primary role is being wife to their daddy.  We must show them love and honor. The kids must see that. If we neglect that foundation we will start seeing lots of cracks in the walls of our spiritual houses. We'll see insecurity and fear in our kids.  Yes, justice is a big responsibility and certainly impacts the little immortal souls of our children.  How can we do it?

2nd~ Love mercy.  This is one of my favorites because God has kindly gifted me with mercy.  Looking that one up in Strong's gave me a slightly different idea that I thought it would.  It gives the idea of deeds of devotion and acts of kindness.  It's more about loving to show mercy by serving in faithfulness.  I get the idea that a meal on the table or a band-aid on a skinned knee fills that bill.  I also think it extends to forgiving our kids and our husbands fully just as Christ did us.  It's about showing compassion intentionally even if we don't feel it.  These are little immortal souls.  What profit will our anger and frustration have for us or them if not tempered with mercy.  What a sweet example we set for them when, after they receive discipline, we extend them mercy.  We get to show them the love of God.  And one of my favorite points in Chip Ingram's "Effective Parenting In a Defective World" is that we not to teach our children to be independent but to transfer their dependence on us to dependence on God.  I imagine it as my child's hand in my hand in God's hand.  Then I slowly slip my hand out so his hand rests in God's.  Oh my hand will still be in God's but in my own relationship.

3 Walk Humbly with your God.  This is it!  This is where it all comes together.  On my own, left to my own resources I will fail miserably.  How will I ever be able to make wise judements and be discerning?  By walking hand in hand with my Savior and learning from Him.  My posture must be that of humility because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.  Oh how I need grace!  The grace of God is not only how we are forgiven but also empowers us with wisdom and strength.  We must choose to walk closely with the heart attitude of needing God's wisdom for every situation!  How will I be able to faithfully serve my family, bandage knees, break up fights, decide who rides shotgun, honor my husband, answer the phone cheerfully, have dinner on the table, do the never ending piles of laundry and so on, with a heart of kindness and mercy?  Walk humbly with my God.  That is the only way. Honestly, I don't do all of those things but I think that's where some walking justly comes in.  Do what's right.  Sometimes doing what's right involves not doing the dishes but reading with the kids instead.  We must be in His word, learn from Him, have conversation with Him.  I say conversation because it's equally as important to listen in prayer as it is to talk to God.  In the frenzy of life we rush past the listening part.  We often pour out our list of wants and needs and close with our amen without pause to hear from our sweet Father.  He wants to direct us in His infinite wisdom but we forget to listen.  How crazy is that?  The God of the universe who controls all things has a little advice for us but we are off and running before He can offer it.  Walk Humbly and you will be equipped for impacting the eternal souls of those around you.

Yes, we have a great deal of power in the world.  But let's purpose together to view each other, our husbands, our children, our church family, and even the lost with the perspective that we have never met a mere mortal.  Our brief moments, days, or years with people could change things for their eternity.  I think that's incredibly exciting and challenging.  It may not always be easy to do justly, love mercy or walk humbly with our God. We may really need each other.  I'm game.  How about you?