ramblings_of_jc

To be satisfied in Christ

So today marks 7 weeks that Rhoda and I have been parents, and I thought I would share a few thoughts. First, I am the most selfish person I know. I thought getting married pointed that out and that it changed somewhat but I learned it still runs very deep. To love a child requires some selfless things that war with selfish flesh, and yet neither the selfish flesh nor the love for a child and joy of being a parent are ultimately satisfying.

This is what I mean to elaborate on. Nothing can truly satisfy but Christ alone. He is the One who make communion with God (who is Christ - I'm still baffled by this whole Trinity thing) possible and that connection with the One who is everything that is good and holy and right is the only thing truly satisfying. God must be our treasure even above wife and children because they are imperfect, and he is the definition of everything good. This is such good news because it is the way to be the best husband and father. To be satisfied in God who will never change and never fail and never run out of his abundant grace means to rest in a sure satisfaction. And that satisfaction does not come without reforming my own heart to overflow those same qualities to those around me, namely my wife and child. To pour out the qualities of the One who satisfies to them is to pour out His grace to them, and it is the only thing that can satisfy them. Therefore, it is the best way to love them. I must take more joy in God than in my wife. I must smile bigger at what God has done than at what things my little girl does. He must be my treasure.

posted by jc @ 8/26/2007 08:45:00 PM