Grace & Truth

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14

I find it hard sometimes to be full of both grace and truth to my children. Sometimes I'm all truth. Other times I'm all grace. But according to John 1:14, grace and truth can coexist. In fact, in relationships grace and truth need to work together.

So how do we do this? How do we administer both grace and truth to our children, especially during "in the moment" opportunities of discipline? I think the answer lies in our ability to emotionally separate ourselves from our child's sin. We are to discipline our children because of the sin, not the offense to us. If I discipline the offense, I have a need for my child to realize how he has wronged. The focus is, thus, on me and not the heart of my child. On the other hand, if I discipline my child for the sin he has committed, I take myself and my offended pride out of the equation and am able to focus on teaching, rebuking, correcting and training him in righteousness, so that he may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

the Light of Life

In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
John 1: 4-5

Rather than using your own words when correcting your children, use the words written in the Word of God. John 1 verse 14 tells us, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." Our very own Savior, Jesus Christ, is the Word of God in the flesh. It is He - and His words - that will reach beyond the behaviors of our children and into their hearts. In Him and His Word is the life which is the light of men, the light that shines into the darkness.