Doing What He Said

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  James 1:22

Doing What He Said
By Rev. William Dohle

I have a confession.  I didn't really realize what having a 12 year old meant and what this gate into the teenage years would look like. Not really...

For years I have counseled and led kids through this gate in Confirmation.  I've met kids in their tween years and walked through the gates until they were teenagers.  I've seen kids grow up and become able adults.  I've watched them change from their childish ways into the ways of being an adult.  I always saw a difference come to life within them, but I never really realized what it was.  Until now.

My oldest son, William, is in the middle of his 13th year of life(he's 12) and it's scary.  It's scary how grown up he looks...but how vulnerable he is.  It's scary how far into the future he must look...preparing in school for college and beyond.  It's scary how he hears and understands everything you say now.

But what's really scary is how he really doesn't take us, his parents, seriously.  Not anymore...

For instance... we tell him to do something.  Say... take out the garbage.  That is one of his many chores at home.  He responds: "Yes, of course..." and then goes into the other room and does something else.  We follow him in the other room to remind him and he says,"Oh you wanted me to do it now?" We respond yes... and he still doesn't do it.  Finally comes the time of consequence, where groundings occur in our home and phones get taken away.  THEN he does it(sometimes in a mad huff), storming out of the house.

Is that what all teenagers are like?  Am I going to be seriously scared when the younger ones get to be this age?

I've always dreamed my kids would be different.  They, more than anyone else, would know what gentle obedience looks like.  My dream was for them to be like the people of Israel were, back on Mount Sinai.

The people of Israel then, after they heard the law spoken and after Moses relayed what God had told them to do, had the chance to respond.  And the people of Israel responded with one voice:

"Everything the Lord has said we will do."(Exodus 24:3)

 Now that's significant in and of itself...but what's more significant is that they responded like that twice, as if to confirm what they had already said...

"We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey." (Exodus 24:7)

Wow!  What would that be like!?  To ask for something to be done and hear, not complaints or excuses or cries or even silence, but to hear: "Yes, Dad!" And to see it done!  Wouldn't that be great!

Of course the follow through isn't there for my son and wasn't there for the people of Israel.  Following this, the people of Israel strayed and disobeyed, one time after another.  The first disobedience was with a golden calf...but that we will look at later.  For now we see their heads are in the game.  Their hearts were not.
 
The same could be said of us too.  Even the most religious of us stray and fail.  We claim to be people of grace...but find judgement to be so easy.  We claim to love one another...but there's a few people we'd rather have nothing to do with.  We claim to want what God wants...but really we want God to want what we want.  Not the other way around.

We are a flawed, messed up group of people.  We are, in our hearts, just teenagers in older bodies.

Forgiveness is what we need, for our motivation is lacking and our vision blurred.  We fail to see why God would want us to do what he has commanded.  We sit on our couches, daring God to come make us change and make us grow.  We know what we should do, but we just don't do it.

For this we cry: Lord forgive us!  Motivate us to get off our rumps and follow, doing what you have commanded us to do, loving who you have commanded us to love, and following after you, not just because you say so, but because we love you!
 
I am too quick, Lord, to say I will when I really don't mean it.  Help me to bring my words and thoughts and actions in line with you.  Amen.