December 31, 2017. Let’s see our kids as God sees them.
We are not only commanded to love God and our neighbor, we are given the power, through Jesus dying, rising and giving us his Spirit, to love in that way.
Today we celebrate the shining example of the Holy Family. It is within our families that we learn how to love. Jesus had to be taught how to pray, how to be a son of the Jewish faith, how to be the Son of God. Our families are the place we learn to love. According to a number of studies, the children of families who practice their faith will also practice their faith. Kids are reflections of their parents. The values and lifestyle of the parents are passed on to the kids. Do we love whom and how we want to have loved when the end comes? Do we love what God loved and hated from the cross? St. Thomas Aquinas says, “All it takes to become a saint is to will it, day by day, moment by moment.”
There is power in blessing each other rather than cursing each other. Let’s honor each other and build each other up. Let’s look for things to praise and encourage. If our kids see us in our raw reality at home, then see us putting on holy airs when we go to church, they get the message that it is all a big fraud and will eventually, out of honesty, stop practicing the faith.
But with God all things are possible. We need to keep on praying for our kids when they grow up. We don’t need to lecture them. Instead, let’s show them the perfect parents’ love that is winsome and wooing. Let’s see our kids as God sees them, with faith, hope and love.
