Hi everyone,
So school finally started, and all three of our kids are finally in grade school! It’ll be nice when I get my Fridays off, drop the kids off at school, and then have until 3 to catch up on stuff (like sleep). I am looking forward to it.
Our two boys, however, weren’t. Although my older loves school, they were dreading it. They didn’t want to go back into routine and have a set bedtime/wake up time again. They especially didn’t want to limit their screen time.
Our daughter though, was super excited to start Kindergarten. It’s all new to her, she’ll be in the same school as her brother, and she gets to meet new people. She couldn’t wait to start.
So we all have different feelings about school starting all for different reasons. And they’re all valid, in that we cannot say that one feeling is more “right” than the other, it’s just how we feel because of where we are and what we are looking forward to.
Here are the readings for next week:
Exodus 32:7-14
Psalm 51:1-10
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Luke 15:1-10
The first reading we get for next week makes God sound like a tough God. Wanting to go back on the covenant with Israel and destroy them for being disobedient? That is a God I don’t want to cross, that would be for sure. But the other readings (and the end of the first as well), we see God differently. Full of grace, mercy, and love, and excited to save.
I find Jesus’ examples funny, how a shepherd would leave 99 sheep to save one, and how a woman would rejoice after finding 1 out of 10 coins. Because, I don’t think anyone would really care about those losses. No one would be excited to regain 1-10% (well maaaybe the later but probably not the former). No one would get excited about that.
Well, God would. God would get excited because the love that God has for all of us is bigger than we could imagine. So much that even when we think a “sinner” needs to suffer the consequences of their actions, God is out and eager to forgive.
I find this incredibly liberating, as it’s not my job to decide who is “saved” or not, nor is it my job to make sure that I’m part of the 99% who are “saved”. Rather, we can rest assured that God will find us where we are, lift us up, and rejoice in knowing that we are loved, valued, and cherished.
Thanks be to God! Have a great week, everyone!