Beautiful and Ugly!
In case you didn't know, we moved into a home about a mile away from school this summer. One of the features of the home is that it is beautifully landscaped. There are a variety of flowers, bushes, vines, and other pretty things I can't even categorize. There were no weeds, everything was mulched nicely, potted plants had been watered, etc. As I looked at the house the beauty of the landscape caught my attention, but then I went behind the shed in the backyard to have my attention "caught" in a whole different way. There is a space back there with weeds over my head. There were vine-like weeds along the ground, climbing the fence, and seeking to intrude on the landscape. It was a mess. But it couldn't be seen unless you walk back there. I thought about how our lives are kind of like that - we look real good to the outside world, but we have this mess inside us as we take a deeper look at things. The mess is sin, and messes need to be cleaned up. God cleaned up the sin in us by sending Jesus to make us clean again through His death and resurrection. Romans 8:1,2 reminds us, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." Maybe have your kids help you pick weeds from your landscape this weekend and remind them that they are getting rid of the bad stuff (sin) just like Christ has done for them - and you!
Family Discussion Points!
Talk about the reality that we are all sinful, but perfect before God due to Jesus' forgiving us of everything. (Big concept, but very true)
Parents, share some major messes you got into when you were a child. It's OK for them to know you messed up too.
Plan a time when you will work together as a family picking weeds out of your landscape making it beautiful in order to identify with Christ making us clean.
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