“’For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.’ (Hebrews 4:12) OK kids, what is the word of God?” “The bible!” “Yes!  What does it mean that it is living?  Is it like a dog? Does it breath?  Does it eat food?” “No…” “Right, it means that no matter what millennium, country, or age we are in it is relevant to us.  What is the purpose of a sword?” “TO KILL PEOPLE!” (Ronnie was all over that one.)  “Yes, to kill.  What does the word of God kill?”  “Sin!” (I actually was impressed that Annabelle got that so quickly!) “Yes, sin. Our sin, other’s sins, and it helps us to fight for truth.  Do you read it?”

This past week has been awful.  Worse than finding a month old sippy cup that once contained milk in a hot car. Things always seem to hit the fan when Barrett is gone.  There is no buffer for me and the kids doing nonstop living together from school, to play, to bed time…did I mention it has been raining so they can’t play outside?  The bickering, the complaining, the competition, the joy they have in making the others mad.  It’s exhausting!  Then there is the outright disobedience and defiance followed by blank stares that do not repent.  At all.  Saturday, we were all in tears as I asked them what I am doing wrong…how is it that the only joy I see in the home is when you are making others get angry?  When dad is gone, shouldn’t we help each other more?  I just don’t get it!  Imagine blank stares…but brimming with tears.  I’m so tired of the same conversations, the same disobedience, the same waiting to stop annoying each other until I have to say something.  Then I read my bible.

I’m reading in the book of Exodus when Moses went up to get the ten commandments and Aaron makes the golden calf instead of trusting the Lord with the Israelites.  God’s wrath burns!  He declares that He is going to wipe out all of the people and start over again.  Moses pleads for them.  God relents…kind of.  Moses goes down, melts the calf, grinds it to a powder, puts it in the water and makes the people drink it.  Can you imagine how long that took?  I digress.  Then the Levites are told to go out and kill their brothers and fathers.  Yah, that’s right, 3000 die.  Then God sends a plague to get more!  I tell the kids this, then ask, “Was God right in doing this?  Was His anger good?”  “Yeeessss?”  “Why?” “ They sinned, they worshipped something else.”  “YES! Do you think they repented?”  “Yeeeesssss?”  “Yah, I think they repented.  Did that fix it?  Did they ever worship another god after that?”  “Yes!”  (Insert our school timeline song of Israel falling to various countries due to their sin.)  “They did it again.  Then again.  Then again.  Did God ever give up on them?”  “No.”  “NO! He made a covenant, a promise to love them.  Not based on what they do or don’t do but based on who He is.  Guess what God taught me as I read this in my bible today?”  “What?”  “Who else disobeys in the same way over and over and over again?”  Sheepish smiles emerge as they answer, “we do”.  “But here’s what the Lord taught me…I need to love you like He loves me.  Covenantally.  Never failing.  Never giving up on you.  I need to love you even when you disobey…every…day.  My anger should be for sin only, not in self-righteousness.  I need to work on that.”

“’For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword’…look how He used an historical event thousands of years ago to encourage me on February 15, 2021.  Isn’t that amazing?!?!  Can you see how powerful His word is?  Don’t you want to read it?”  I see Annabelle’s eyes full of wonder as she takes it in…how about yours?