Daily Connection Reflection December 26 Matthew 2:19-23 Todays story of Jesus parents on the move again, reminds us that our children dont have to grow up in privileged homes in order to have significant lives. Jesus father is a construction worker, his mother is looked on with disgust by many in her village (she got pregnant before being married.) They are political refugees fleeing for their lives. The move around from place to place. When they do return home, it is to a village in the least desirable neighbourhood. But … Jesus has a very significant life. Perhaps this is a good time to stop and reflect on our drivenness to make life easy and privileged for our children. Time to remember that, contrary to popular opinion, position, prestige, money, status in the community, impressive jobs, living in the right part of town, and impressive presents have little bearing on how significant childrens lives will be. At a time of the year when we feel like we are failing our children if we cant give them the latest smartphone under the tree, or clothes with the right label, or trips to exotic places, it is good to remember that while those things may be nice, they often also contribute to a sense of entitlement and self centredness and can be a hindrance to developing character and a compassionate world view. The very best gifts we can give our children, the ones that have real influence on predicting a significant life for them, are unconditional love, encouragement, and genuine examples of living lovingly, gratefully, compassionately, and justly. And these are things we can give them, regardless of where we live, how much we earn, or how important we are in other peoples eyes. This is both very good news - we dont have to be driven to give our children a privileged lifestyle, and a challenge to our obsession with doing so. Lets think about that today.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 12:38:38 +0000
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