No Negotiations

This week marks Matthew and Jordan’s fourth week of swimming lessons.  Most lessons as the instructor prompts the kids, their responses have made me giggle yet ache inside as I notice their disguised disobedience.  I never knew my five year-old to be a negotiator:  The teacher tells Matthew to swim to the forth line and he says “to the second,” so the teacher says “ok, the third.”  Teacher says to take two breaths, Matthew takes one. 

Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” Mark 10:21 (NKJV)

In this passage, we don’t see any negotiations.  It is clear what our Lord wants the Rich Young Ruler to do, yet he… refused. 

As mommas, we are training and later expecting our kids to obey us so they will know how to obey God.  We don’t expect them to obey only part of the way or even better yet… refuse!  We are in the midst of teaching them through the word of God what happens when He says to do something yet the thing is not carried out.  A great example, however a little gory for little kids is in 1 Samuel 15 where king Saul was supposed to “utterly destroy” all the people yet he “took Agag king of the Amalekites alive.”

No negotiations.  No refusals.  What is God asking you and me to do yet we… refuse – or we try to negotiate!  Let’s be that momma after God’s own heart to do as He says, without compromising.  Our children are looking on.