“That Kid” brings memories, some good and some not-so-good for all of us. We all have stories of kids who stretched the boundaries, talked incessantly in school, broke the rules, challenged authority, took risks, made us laugh or cry…you fill in the memory bank.
I have thirty years in education and many stories of “that kid”. When I was younger, I, unfortunately, judged those kids pretty harshly. I sometimes equated childish immaturity as a life sentence. I thought I had all the answers. I took the Lord out of the equation. I was planting a seed that I thought was trampled. I gave myself too much credit. The Lord was still watering and nurturing the soil. As the Lord frequently does, he kept me around long enough to see the error of my ways.
I smile with tears in my eyes as I look down the pews or down the halls of my school and watch “those kids” parent their own children, quite well. I have learned the hard way never to judge a child by their school days. The Lord isn’t through with them yet. He definitely isn’t through with my gray-haired self.
In Matthew 5:22, we are instructed not to call our brother, Raca that is commonly translated fool. In Hebrew, the word is based on a concept of ‘worthless’. We have no right to think of anyone of worthless or in our terminology, “write them off”. We are guilty of the heart of the law. Too big a price was paid for every life.
We all grew up memorizing John 3:16 but we need to look at it with fresh eyes. “For God so loved the world. HE gave his only begotten SON”. HE gave based on HIS love. We should do the same. Love then love some more and when it gets hard, love more. We can’t see the future and how GOD is working towards his purpose. The LORD will show up BIG when we get over ourselves and let HIM work. Maranatha! Jayme
