 |
| Source: sciencea-z.com |
My son pulled out a few magnets to experiment with during homeschool the other day. I don't care how old I get, or how many times I've played around with magnets, they always fascinate me--how they move, and how they get other things to move, without even touching them. We both played around with how the like poles repelled each other, and saw how the opposite poles attracted each other, sticking together in a powerful bond.
Thinking back on it, God continues to show me several truths about parenting through our magnetic play that day. One thing that stands out was how my son could hold the south poles of each magnet very close together, even close enough to touch. But the minute he'd let them go, they'd rapidly fly apart. The north poles would do the same, getting forced together, only to snap apart when he'd release his grip.
It reminds me of how I often try to use rules, rewards, and punishments to manage the behavior of my children. Like holding like poles together, I will foolishly trust that these outward measures will bring lasting change to their lives. But this never works, of course! Even if it does work in the short term, I realize that one day, my children will grow bigger than me, and they will move out on their own. Like those magnets, the minute my grip is released, they will fly off in the direction they intend to go, toward their natural, fleshly nature of sin and lostness.
In truth, God never designed the law to change us outwardly, but instead, to point us to our need for change from the inside-out. You see, it takes God changing the polarity of our hearts, through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, to produce lasting change in our lives, and this holds true for our children, as well.
I love how Paul Tripp distills this truth down in his book, Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family:
"Your children need God's law, but you cannot ask the law to do what only grace can accomplish."
So often I must stop and remind myself that rules, rewards, punishments, corrections, and lectures (even my best ones!) have no real power to rescue my children from their sinful, foolish ways. It cannot produce in them godly hearts, making them people who are eager to make wise and moral choices and love others well. Only God, through His grace, can change them into the people I long for them to be!
On that same morning at our schoolroom table, I also watched my son play with paper clips and a magnet. When he rubbed a paper clip along the magnet, it became magnetized. Almost miraculously, this paper clip could then be used like a magnet, able to pick up other paper clips, all by itself! This observation reminded me of a sermon I had heard many years ago from Pastor David Jeremiah. He likened Jesus to a magnet and discussed the truth of how the more time we spend with Jesus, the more we became "magnetized" in a sense--more Christ-like and useful for His kingdom work.
Oh, how I pray that as I spend time with God in prayer and through the reading of His holy word, He will make me more like Him! May His grace, love, and patience repolarize my heart, as I teach and train my children in the ways of righteousness, and may they see Christ when they look at me!
I am often in awe at how God's truth can be impressed upon us, even through the simple work of magnets and paper clips, during a mundane homeschooling day!
May we never forget that God is with us, able to change us from the inside-out, faithful to make us more like Him! For those of us parents, may we always be reminded that we ought to use the law rightly in our homes--to point us and our children to our need for Jesus--and not to wield it as a weapon to outwardly control our children's behavior, to no avail.
May God, and His magnetic truths of life, empower us to live godly lives, and train godly children, today!
No comments