So today I got up early and did my reading in the morning. I had lots of dishes to do, laundry to sort but decided it could just wait. I had to stop my busy work about three times before I got myself on the couch and reading. I read January 2nds passages today as found on the reading plan here http://www.oneyearbibleimages.com/Bibleln365Days-PrintableSchedule.pdf. I decided to start with January readings even thought it's October because Sam's children's bible is chronological and I was hoping that our readings would sort of match up. It isn't exactly working that way but I think I will "beat" him to a lot of stories which will benefit me as I try to answer his many questions. I'm trying to read the commentary in my Bible as much as I can too so that I can find interesting tidbits to mention to him. He really likes geography so I'm thinking some of the maps in my Bible may be interesting to him.
My reading today was about Adam and Eve and the Fall. I've read this story maybe 100 times but today I was reading it from a parenting perspective. I heard a speaker say once that if she could change one thing about how she parented her children it would be that she would read fewer parenting books and more of the Bible. I think this is great advice. What stuck me today was how God "parented" Adam and Eve as their ultimate Father.
First, he set them up in an environment in which they could succeed. I mean, they had the Garden of Eden, the closest thing to Heaven that there has ever been here on earth. There was no death, no work, plentiful foods, immense beauty, constant communion with God - it was a literal paradise.
Second, he set some clear and simple boundaries. He told them what their job was going to be - to take care of everything on the earth. He told them what they could eat (pretty much anything they could see) and what they could not eat (fruit from only one tree - that of the knowlege of good and evil). Doesn't get much clearer or simpler than that.
Thirdly, he issued a warning. He told them if they did eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil that they would die.
That was how God set his earthly children up and I'm wondering if I should be doing more of this with my own children. Set them up to succeed, make our boundaries crystal clear and warn them of the consequences for disoberying. Pretty simple stuff but in the thick of things I am often not doing this I realize.
Now for the discipline. God does a few interesting things here as well.
First, he asks them if they disobeyed him. He isn't asking them because he wants to know the answer mind you. He is asking them to give them an opportunity to tell him the truth and appologize. As so often happens with my children, Adam and Eve don't necessarily cooperate.
Second, he manifests some pretty incredible mercy with them. He had told Adam and Eve that they would die if they ate the fruit but he does not end their lives. This was a good reminder to be merciful with my children as well during discipline. They are just kids and they are learning with God's grace.
Thirdly, he doles out the punishment. Everyone involved in the crime is punished. Even the weasly snake gets a punishment. This reminded me to look a little harder at the situation when I am disciplining my boys. As my mother always said, "it takes two to tango" and I want to make sure that it is not always the loudest offender who is reprimanded.
Lastly, I was struck by how God's punishment was so well suited for Adam and Eve in particular. I realized that before this time, it is not clear if people were created with the ability to procreate. By allowing Eve to bear children, He created an eternal purpose for her and womankind. The pain she would feel would forever remind her of her sinfulness but the life that would come from her would give her a reason to live and to seek God so that she could train her children (much the same reason I am finding myself reading the Bible in one year with my own son). We want the best for our children and we can not give this to them unless we are our best selves.
Adam was forced to work hard but also given a gift and responsibility to be a great provider. Though this was a burden placed on Adam and all of mankind, it is probably the greatest driving force for men even today. The desire to provide for and protect one's family is innate in men and it empowers them in a truly singular way above all other desires.
So these punishments were so well suited for Adam and Eve. No longer could they think only of themselves but they must care for God's eternal family. These children would come from their own union and would be almost an extension of themselves. Perhaps, God knew the truly selfish desires of our hearts and decided that the only way for us to truly dedicate oursevles to his creation was if our children were our own "offspring"?
That may be a stretch but it got me thinking about my own children. Have my desires for them been the desires of God or have they been my own desires? Sometimes, I feel God saying to me about my oldest son, "He is not here to please you. He is here to please ME! Give this child to me." Am I best preparing my children for this life or for an eternal life with God? Wow! That is a big question and one that I feel like I must do some big work on. I am so glad I am doing this. I don't want to stop short this time!
Sam and I read the passage "The Angels, Good and Bad" in his Bible tonight. I'll post the audio file when we are done.
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