Hi Journey Kids parents!
This week, we have another story shared by Pastor Jeremy. I hope this encourages you and inspires you as you prepare your hearts to deliver this content to your family!
“How we see things affects our heart condition so much. I remember hiking in Colorado one time and despite the amazing beauty and scenery I didn’t feel great and was really just wanting to get to the top for the accomplishment, not for the enjoyment of hiking in beautiful mountains. As I was walking and laboring to breath the thin air my focus was on the peak, and not my surroundings. I kept convincing myself that getting to the top would be the reward I was actually craving, however as I got to the top of what I thought was the top I soon realized it was a false summit/or false peak, and the top was actually much further than I thought. I was frustrated and worn out and debated with myself about what’s actually fun about hiking.
This makes me think about how the disciples must have felt, when they we’re trying to get Jesus to send several thousand people away. They must have seen tired, hungry, needy people that seemed like a burden to those who were also tired, hungry, and needy. Thankfully Jesus doesn’t look at us like that, and He didn’t look at the crowd like that either. He looked at the people with love and compassion and had them sit down so He could show God’s love, grace, and amazing power to them.
All of us parents can look around and see hungry, needy people, that if they aren’t tired their behavior will soon have them be that way (doesn’t that describe most children ????) and feel burdened by our responsibility, or we can prayerfully look at them as Jesus does and realize they are created in the image of God Himself, and if we look we can see the characteristics of Jesus in our own children (and possibly even their weird friends ????) and we can love them like Jesus does.
“Do you have eyes but fail to see?” Mark 8:18a (NIrV)
Parenting is hard, because people like us and our children are difficult, but we don’t have to focus on the false summit like I did in Colorado. When we See People as Jesus Sees Them we can enjoy the beauty and the surroundings more, like I should have done on my hike. Jesus loves you, and I hope you have an amazing day. “
Are you ready to learn more about how we should see people as Jesus sees them? Gather your family and watch this week’s episode of the Journey Today Show here.
After the video, you can use the attached materials to help take your family deeper into the lesson:
Thank you for investing in the lives of our next generation, I pray that the impact from the discussion this week not only changes how your family sees and interacts with others, but that the efforts are multiplied as people feel the love of Jesus and are inspired to reciprocate. Have a great week!
