Choose Love – part 3

Here is the third and last post about choosing to love your children biblically from I Corinthians 13:

Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in truth…
Faithful instruction and correction can easily be misunderstood. This is particularly the case when parental authority is being exercised. When correcting your children you can give them the impression that you are delighting in their failure. Since disciplined training in righteousness must be thorough and ongoing, a child may think that the only purpose a parent has is to delight in telling them how wrong he is.

This is where you have to look at your child’s world through his eyes. It is huge that in the process of correction, your words should follow the direction of the Spirit and be pleasant ( Proverbs 16:20-24). Anger and irritation reinforce the idea that you are taking delight in correction. While this may be the last thing on your mind, your child may see things differently. You don’t have the option to stop discipline, but you do have the option to discipline with love and joy in God’s truth.

Love always protects…

There are four powerful admonitions in verse 7 of this chapter. Providing biblical encouragement and direction to your children is protection for them. All of us respond well to situations where we are protected, trusted, embraced with hope, and where personal commitment to us is enduring. And this is exactly what the Holy Spirit says love is:

Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.

This creates the environment in which your children will flourish. These four directives provide the climate to powerfully present the gospel to your children.

The Holy Spirit’s words in I Corinthians 13 are challenging and worthy of your thought and meditation. These verses remind you that you cannot be biblical parents in your own strength – you must have the power of Christ to accomplish the Spirit’s call to love your children.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. I Cor. 13:4-7

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