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Rest In (not from) Parenting

There are very few things that can bring a man or woman to exhaustion like parenting.  As a father with three young children, I often wonder when the sea waves of tantrums, mealtime battles, endless requests for snacks, sleepless nights, sibling squabbles, and rooms that could be featured on the next Transformers movie will subside.  To be sure, parenting is immensely rewarding, but it also absolutely comes with difficulty.  How are we to properly see these waves that batter us like an abandoned ship on a shore?  Is there any rest to be found?  I propose yes, but only through seeing that the difficulty is the reward.

In Luke 10, the question of rest comes up.  An expert in the law stands up and questions Jesus asking, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?”  The question of eternal life is at it’s roots a question about finding rest.  It is a question that harkens back to the beginning of time as Adam and Eve are experiencing the fullness of it.  It is important to understand that prior to brokenness ripping into the cosmos through sin, Adam and Eve are not toiling or experiencing weariness in any form.  The reason that they walk in rest and peace is because they are finding in the only source that ultimately provides it, the triune God, Himself.  

Out of this question of rest from the lawyer, the parable of the Good Samaritan is birthed.  It is a brilliant story from Jesus that is meant to show the lawyer not how to keep the law, but his inability to do so.  Ultimately, Jesus’ desire is for the lawyer to see his need for the grace that only Jesus provides.  The truth of the Good Samaritan is not that we are suppose to be the Good Samaritan, but rather to see that Jesus is the Good Samaritan who shows compassion to you and me as we sit on the shore beaten on by the waves.  

Resources on parenting are endless.  All of them seek to provide help for those in need.  How-to and useful parenting methods are a great thing but let us not be tricked into thinking that they will bring us rest, for there is only One who is able.  In our weakness, may we cling to Him who is strong.  May we see that the difficulty in parenting is actually a reward meant to point us to Jesus.  What if by seeing that we are not enough, we can actually find rest in the One who is?  God doesn’t just use parenting to raise up disciples, but also to conform them.

This blog post from Pastor Rick was originally published on speedoffamily.com.  

Verse of the Month - Nov 2017

[4] Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name!  (Psalm 100:4 ESV)

On Thanksgiving Day, many families and friends will draw together around a table to celebrate the blessings that we have.  Although we as Christians should and are called to be thankful for the freedom, abundance, and many other material blessings that God has bestowed upon us, God invites his sons and daughters into something much deeper.  The call to be thankful is not limited to a day in November, nor a thankfulness that is limited to our possessions, but rather it is an invitation into a life of thankfulness centered upon who God is.  The month of November and Thanksgiving Day are an opportunity for us as believers to orient our hearts back to the Lord.  This is the beckoning of the psalmist in Psalm 100 as it calls us to be grateful at all times based upon the character of our God.  

A thankful heart that has been liberated is only thankful because of its Liberator.  We see this truth in this Psalm.  We are called to be make a joyful noise (v 1); to serve the LORD with gladness and come into His presence with singing, thanksgiving, and praise (v 2, 4); to know that the Lord is God and we are His (v 3); and to give thanks to him by blessing his name (v 4).  Yet, all of these commands are based upon the who God is.  Verse 5 tells us that we are commanded to do these things because the LORD is good, loving, and faithful.  These characteristics of God are fully seen in the Lord Jesus.  

Jesus is the Good Shepherd who displayed God’s goodness, steadfast love, and faithfulness when He purchased us by His blood on the cross and then resurrected from the dead.  Truly He cares for us, the sheep of His pasture.  He loves us with a love that endures forever!  Because God is good, loving, and faithful, we are able to walk in this calling.  So this month, may we as believers dwell upon the deeper things orienting our hearts to who God is.  Let as a church “enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name!”

Written by Pastor Rick Bartek