Pastor's Page

#4  - A Compassionate Worldview

The rising tone of divisiveness, fear, and unrest in our world has led me to pray that my children and grandchildren will understand that the heart of the gospel begins with a spirit of civility - putting people before political preferences, social circles, ethnic ties, or economic similarities.

I am asking God to help my children and grandchildren see the people around them as image bearers of Christ. Among those they find hardest to love, I am praying for God to give them the capacity to first affirm their enemy’s dignity before feeling the need to set them straight. I desire that the Lord would  enable them to offer a seat at the proverbial table to the seemingly most inhospitable kid they know because Christ offered them a seat when they were at their worst. Jesus’ welcoming acceptance is a truth our pastor has reminded us of again and again.

Loving others when they are at their worst can happen only when the Holy Spirit illuminates their minds, eyes, and hearts to His ways, which often are completely counter to their own. And this is why I’ve also begun praying with my children the words Corrie ten Boom prayed throughout her lifetime: “Lord, keep us so close to your heart that we see things as it were more and more from your point of view.”

To those profound words I’ve added these: “Give us eyes, God, to see past someone’s anger or pain toward their need. Show us how to be like you, as strange, dangerous, or extraordinary as it seems. Thank you that you always see us as we truly are and love us still. Allow us to do the same with others. Amen.”

Prayer, whether it’s snuck in between yawns or whispered during a carpool route, is one eternally significant way that we can love and serve our kids. As parents, while we can’t pray for everything, we can pray for some things.