Through the Lens of a Dad

My daughter is at a stage in her life where she is pushing her mom and I and testing us to do things her way. However, there are things she is doing that are unhealthy for her and affects the people around her negatively – throwing food and other objects when she gets frustrated, not wanting to sleep at specific times, rudely yelling, “No!” And as people trying to be responsible parents we correct and tell her it’s not the right thing to do. This is a challenge to her and most times (because she’s 21 months) she cries and throws herself on the floor and wails.

I think we as adults get this way too. I was thinking a lot about John the Baptist this morning and how in the Gospel of Luke he challenged the multitudes, the tax collectors, and soldiers to do and be something they were not used to – to be generous with others, to shape up their business practices, and to be content with their pay. John said, “He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise… Collect no more than is appointed you… Rob no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your wages” (Luke 3:11, 13, 14). Luke writes that John often preached this way and that he described these exhortations as “good news.”

I really had to think about this idea of “good news” this morning because to me, “good news” would be – “my illness is gone,” “my debt has been paid because someone gave me a lot of money,” or “I got a free pass out of a speeding ticket.” These things would clearly be “good news.” But how can being challenged to change your life or lifestyle be good news when this is the pattern that you have used your whole life? There is great difficulty in any paradigm shift. There is always a sense of loss in any kind of change.

But as I was reading in my devotional this morning I realized that when we begin to see and understand the spiritual life Jesus came to give us is when we begin to see how and why the gospel is good news even though it challenges us to change our lives. As I walk with Jesus and experience the kind of life he wants for me, John the Baptist’s exhortations are things I would want to live out. I begin to see that what John was pointing out was sin and a life-style that is ultimately selfish and self-centered, and these burdens I do not want to carry. Rather, I want to trust that the life God has for me is much better than what I can think of or in my own strength live out.

My 21-month old would rather get cookies and crackers, stay up as late as she wants or yell at anyone she wants but those things do not add up to the kind of life her mom and I want for her. I hope at some point she sees that what we are challenging her to do will somehow be “good news.”

Thanks for reading.

Joe