Reconciliation for Families

by Terri Bonin

Our family’s Bible study theme this month is love…loving each other, loving others, forgiving each other, and reconciling.

(1 Corinthians 13)

Of course, it is! There are lots of people living in this house.

In the mornings, I methodically read through scripture, stopping to ask questions along the way to engage the kids’ minds and make them think, so they will hopefully take ownership of the lesson.

“Do you know anyone who has ever been rude?”

Fully expecting them to point the finger at others, I wait.

I mean, it’s our human nature to see our own sin in someone else, but not in ourselves, right?

Blind spots hover.

My desire is to teach my kids to apply scripture directly to themselves, so they can grow, learn from it, and live successful lives.

Without missing a beat, my four-year-old pipes up…

“Us! We are rude sometimes!”

BINGO! PRAISE GOD! HE GETS IT!

“Yes, Caden! Exactly. Sometimes we are rude and impatient with the ones we love most, and this is not right. Love is patient and kind…”

Fifteen minutes later, outside…the very child that “GETS IT!” calls his brother a name. How quickly we forget the lessons. I discipline him appropriately and send him back out to play lovingly with his brother, and BAM! There it is again.

Same offense. Same child. Same discipline…Just firmer.

I deal once again with his rude behavior and send him out again to play kindly with his brother.

Failing is a part of life. As we grow and mature, hopefully, we fail less. I work to teach my kids how to get back up, own their mistakes, repent to the offended, and walk in reconciliation.

Too many people today are failing and not owning their mistakes, repenting, and walking reconciled. It’s killing the modern-day family.

Forgetting this lesson in adulthood devastates families.