"The Lord takes his place in court; he rises to judge the people. The Lord enters into judgment against the elders and leaders of his people: It is you who have ruined my vineyard; the plunder from the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor?" - Isaiah 3:13-15
No, the best day of my life wasn't at a concert or a party or a crazy night out with my best friends, the worst thing I've experienced was not breaking up with the "love of my life" when I was 16, and my summer breaks were rarely spent relaxing by the pool or shopping all day at the mall. The hardest thing I've ever done was not win a cheer competition or take my school's football team to state championships. The best day of my life was spent in a dirty little room with a dying child, the worst thing I experienced (and still experience every single day) was the anxiety of knowing the life the children I loved so dearly were destined for if someone did not step in and make sure they didn't become another statistic of prostitution and drug abuse. My summer breaks were spent raising money to spend a little bit of time in destitute places just hoping that my presence somehow made an impact and the hardest thing I ever did was peel myself away from a precious baby girl who was fast asleep in my arms, knowing that I would never see her again on this side of eternity, and that I could only PRAY that I would see her in the next.
When we commit our lives to Christ, we are committing ourselves to a life of heartache. The Jesus of the bible didn't promise us that walking out a life with Him and His Father was going to be an easy road filled with nice stained glass buildings to look at along the way, He only promised that in everything, darkness would last for a night, but joy would come in the morning. Making God our rock is not an option if we want to spend eternity with Him. And because it is not an option, doing what He bids His children to do is not an option either.
"For this is what the high and lofty One says- He who lives forever, whose name is holy: 'I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.'....I was enraged by his sinful greed, I punished him and hid my face in anger, yet he kept on in his willful ways, I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort of him, creating praise on the lips of the mourners (in Israel)." Isaiah 57:15, 17-18 NIV
"The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit; you will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God" Psalm 51:17 NLT
For all the MOMS reading this post, I beg you to teach your children these things. The most important thing they will ever learn in their lives is how to press their ear against the heart of God and hear what He cries over, what He rejoices over, and what strikes a righteous anger into His being. It shows them more of who He is, and who they are supposed to be, it enables them to hear His voice and to use their gifts and talents to do something great in the world for the name of our savior.
