Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. -James 5:16 (NASB)
The other day I lost my patience and was short with my son when he was being rude to me…and he told me, “It’s okay, daddy, I forgive you.” I was thinking wait a second, I should be forgiving you!…but then I realized God was reminding me that He has already forgiven me for my falling short.
We were never meant to be perfect. Only Jesus ever was. And that’s okay for our kids to know.
This is a very different upbringing than I was used to. I grew up in a household where my parents were never wrong, so apologies or acknowledgement of any wrongdoing would never happen. There wasn’t any prayer, either. But apologies and acknowledgement of mistakes goes a long way toward healing and bonding, and prayer has powers to move mountains–even mountains of resentment and pain.
This excellent piece from Desiring God gives three key points about parenting (click the link to read more on each point):
- God is not just working through me as a parent, but on me.
- True confession is heartfelt, not contrived.
- Good apologies don’t end with “but.”
True humility and honesty isn’t taught, but caught as we live it out to our kids. May our servant king forever be our model of unconditional love, patience, longsuffering, and heartfelt honesty.
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