Love and Admonition

Bring your children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. That's what it says, probably in Proverbs, though I'm not going to look it up right now.

I was thinking about those two words.

Nurture. Tenderness. Mercy and kindness. Hugs and kisses. Holding when hurt, listening, compassion, understanding. My little one has a hurt toe, I hold him as long as he lets me. My young adult daughter is having a tough day, I hug her until she's done crying and talking. Feeding, diaper changing, clothing, bedding, bandaging. Nurturing.

Admonition. Correcting. Training. Shepherding their hearts. Pruning. Directing and redirecting and redirecting. Giving boundaries and reinforcing them. Disciplining. My 3 year old son is fighting with his 5 yr old sister continually, he is spending time in a chair and learning this is unacceptable. My older daughters are having difficulty completing their work, they will miss the movie tonight. I will discipline the ones I love.

But I also want them to know His nurture and admonition through my parenting. I want to point them to His beauty and love and compassion when they are sad or hurt or scared. I want to direct them to His statues, His perfect law, His righteousness, His holiness.

But His law is a tutor to point us back to His cross, His mercy, His everlasting love. I hold up His standards, unachievable, and then show them the way to repentence. I don't give them an easy attainable set of rules. I want to set the bar high. In fact, it's not my bar. I'm a steward. They belong to Him. So we have to use His laws.

Honor your mother and father. Be ye kind one to another, forgiving one another as Christ has forgiven you. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth except that which is useful for building up and edification. Do not sin in your anger. He who hates instruction is stupid. Love your enemies.

Those things are hard. Especially to a 3 year old. But they are the law. The little kid version is this: I have them hold up two fingers. Obey and be kind. How do you solve problems with a sibling? Hold up two fingers. First, speak kindly to them. If that doesn't work, call in help.

What I'm asking of them is hard. It's impossible. But that means we have ample opportunity to practice repenting, practice being forgiven and asking for help. We are wearing a path to the cross.

The love and the admonition (and the love) of the Lord.