What is God Asking of Us?

Chapter 7 of Shame off You looked at the idea of scapegoats and boundaries. We ended up taking a u-turn on the topic to really look at our boundaries with God (notes attached). First of all, the book has a great definition of scapegoats and why they exist, what they look like today, and the place that God had in the design of the two goat system. Sadly, we did not go over this very much.

We did go over John 6 and the feeding of the five thousand. Where it was not scapegoats, it was a great discussion on how we have improper boundaries with God. Jesus asks Philip a question to test him. So we know right away that Jesus already had something in mind with the question. So often we think that God tests us because He does not know the answer. He knows what is in us; He is trying to get us to know.

Philip gets frustrated with the question and says it is impossible. Andrew interjects, but then gives up after he realized how futile his answer really was. God often asks us to do the impossible, and we take the challenge and try to bring about the impossible. We think because God asks us the question that He must want us to follow through with it. No!

God wants us to participate with Him in the miracle. He does not expect us to perform the miracle.

God has called us to the impossible task of raising godly children. We cannot do this on our own. We can learn tricks and tools, but only God can change the heart. Only God can raise godly children. We need to allow Him to work the miracle in our children's lives.

Shame comes when we think God is expecting us to do something we can never do on our own. Parents, shame off you! God wants us to experience the joy of joining Him in the process of raising our kids. Allow Him to work.

How do we let God raise our kids? Great question. Spend time to ask Him what it will look like. Jesus, how do you want me to pour worth and value into my kids today? Jesus, my child has not been behaving lately. What is going on in her heart? How do you want me to minister to her? God is answering all of the questions. We are just following His directions.

Yes, Jesus does call us to things that we cannot do on our own. The whole Christian life is this. The joy comes from relying on His Holy Spirit to lead and empower us to accomplish those impossible tasks. As your children see your reliance on Christ, you will be well on your way of raising godly children.

For fun: the anatomy of a scapegoat...

Image by Michael Paulus