Daily Lesson for August 21, 2014

Today's Daily Lesson is from Job chapter 1 verses 4 and 5:

4 His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

One of the difficult, yet fundamental terms of life we as parents must learn to accept is the fact that we cannot protect our children from all of the dangers in this world - including the danger they are to themselves. Try as we might; at some point we have to realize a lot of life is left to chance and some to choice, but is beyond our ability to control - and that includes our ability to control things with our own religious faith and practices.

Job's children were party types while Job was a classic family member of a problemed drinker. Job fretted and worried about their drinking and what they did while they drank. He then turned to his religion to try to make atonement for them - in other words, he tried to buy God's protection over them with his own religious fidelity.

Here is a tough truth; life just doesn't work that way. We can't pray or pledge or volunteer enough to ever guarantee they will be safe and sound with a hedge of protection surrounding them. There are no quid pro quo guarantees like that in life and those who think there are will eventually be heartbroken.

Here's another alternative. Rather than trying to buy God's favor over our children's lives, we can learn to trust that God already favors them, that God loves them, and that God goes with them - even into that far country Prodigal Children like to go to. And, yes, even into death.

We can trust God with our children, and we can trust our children with God; and if we can learn to trust these things then we shall already have the one thing a parent needs to make it through any circumstance: serenity.