Yesterday, my six-year-old son, Taylor, was horsing around a bit with my keyboard and yep, you guessed it, they had a little accident. He managed to drop the keyboard onto the floor facedown. I was out for a run at the time and when I got home I knew something bad had happened when my wife told him to "show Daddy what happened" with that look of serious disapproval on her face and that look of utter despair on Taylor's face. A few of the keys were broken pretty bad. Daddy was not happy, but immediately I knew that I had a huge opportunity to model the gospel for Taylor.
But I am mad! That little dude should have known better! My flesh was crying out for justice. Justice of the spanking kind.
I made it clear that I needed to be alone for a few minutes as I was still breathing heavy from my run but also wanted to compose myself and think for a bit. After a few minutes I had a good Father/Son chat with Taylor and told him that he needs to ask before he plays with Dad's things and if he is unclear about the consequences of certain behaviors he needs to stop and think and then ask. He felt really bad and was genuinely remorseful but also very eager for reconciliation. He understood that Dad screws up quite a bit as well and that is why we need Jesus.
How thankful am I that God does not lash out like I am tempted to do.
How thankful am I that he forgives sin that costs way more than a broken keyboard.
How thankful am I that God is infinitely more patient than I am.
How thankful am I that God gives me opportunities put to death my sinful nature. (But the process really hurts.)
How thankful am I that God has blessed me with such beautiful children who genuinely want to please me and honor me.
How thankful am I that God gives me opportunities like this (which I know my kids will remember) to hopefully model well the gospel for them. May they see their Dad as consistent.
6 comments:
sorry about the keyboard, bro! ... i resonate with you on the opportunites God gives us to model the gospel to our kids each day. i think he's shaping me just as much as he's shaping my kids in the process!
Thanks for sharing this story. Reading it means a lot to me, seeing there are dads out there who do model the gospel. I pray that I might be one of them someday.
Thank you for modeling the Gospel for your son, Zach. It will do him much good. I wish I had seen that as a child.
Someday one of my not yet born kids is going to smash in the face of my favorite guitar. May the Gospel reign in my family on that day.
nothing happens by accident. Here this seemingly random, globally insignificant event reaches through the Internet to touch my heart as a father towards my kids. Butterfly effect, my friend. I might never meet you here on earth, Zach, but you should know that your blog has made my life better. Thanks for sharing.
I've been reading your blog for some time now (linked through challies), though this is the first time I've commented. Just wanted to say thanks for all your posts and this one in particular - it was and will be extremely helpful for me as a father and as a child of God.
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