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Unlike my children, I was not raised in the Church. It is something I take for granted now, but even though I considered myself a Christian and attended Church on occasion, I had limited knowledge of the Bible. As the Lord beckoned me closer in adulthood I began to study and spend time in the Word of God. When my children started attending the AWANA program, I had to up my game. They had things to memorize, and as young children who couldn’t read, it was my responsibility to help them learn their verses. By proximity, those verses seeped into my heart, and thanks be to God, they found fertile ground.
All of this came flooding back to me this morning as I helped my daughter find a verse in her Bible I wanted her to read and reflect on. Now as an avid reader, she had no problem reading the books, and thanks to the Old Testament and New Testament songs we learned together, she navigated her way to 2nd Timothy from the couch while I frantically stirred a boiling pot on the stove. She quickly located Chapter 1 and not long after verse 7. A skill I lacked until middle age; wait, what’s middle age…strike that, mid 30’s. She read the verse to me.
7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:7 NIV
I prefer the NKJV of this verse
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
We took time to talk about what this verse means and share experiences where we have allowed fear to reign and that our God is not a God of fear, and He gave us power, the ability to lavish love, and a sound mind. Praise the Lord!
Sometimes the Lord uses the most ordinary moments to make us pause and reflect. This moment helped me to reflect on my stubborn self, and how Jesus cast net after net into the ocean of my own doing trying to save me while I floundered and sank deeper and deeper. He never gave up on me, and He will never give up on you, either. Maybe you could recite all the books of the Bible by four and never miss a Sunday morning or Wednesday night; guess what? Jesus loves you! Or maybe today, at this very moment, you are considering accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and you have never opened the Bible, guess what? Jesus loves you. But the love of Jesus is not the fickle love of this world. The love of Jesus is never ending, unquenching, longsuffering and abundant. The love of Jesus is stickier than gum in a toddler’s hair. It is deeper than a mother’s love, and it’s all for you.
Lord, how grateful I am for your love, your care, and your patience. I ask you to remind everyone reading this how precious they are to you. Let them see themselves as you see them. Help them to cast off fear and embrace the truth of who they are in Christ. -Amen