Grace in school, Grace in expectations

⁶ And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. ⁷  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. ⁸  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. Deuteronomy 6:6-8


This passage of Scripture is what I have been meditating on today. The reason why is that I have been struggling with the balance of "academics" in our "homeschool" life and the conviction that all of life is learning and that the Bible is clear about what I am to teach my children. I listened to a series by R.C. Sproul Jr that is challenging and encouraging about keeping God, Christ and his Word the main thing in teaching and in family life. I don't do a very good job of that. I don't think that I know God's Word very well, certainly not as well as I could. 


In my first post I talked about the woman who talks and talks and sometimes her thoughts do not connect but they are always full of Scripture. She is my inspiration for taking seriously the value of God's Word. Here is yet another part of my life that needs more of Christ through His Word. 


Another part of my struggle these last few days is that I have been reading His Word and not really paying attention. Life in this world still seems to crowd out the truly precious and valuable, eternal things with urgent temporal things. I found myself upset that I was desiring to do a good thing and couldn't do it. I was frustrated that I was trying so hard to do better, be better, for God and He was not giving back the way I thought He ought to. Then needing to repent and remember that the point is to "seek first His kingdom" through grace.

I am not sure if any of this is making any sense but I assure you that the two are very related. It is a vicous cycle that is frustrating and necessary and affects every area of my life...including training my children...this cycle of "sin, repent, embrace grace, seek Him, be blessed, expect perfection in myself and my world, sin". Frustrating because it seems like there is no progress but necessary because I continually need reminders that my righteousness is only good because it is Christ's righteousness, given to me.

²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹ so that no human being^[d] might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰ And because of him^[e] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, ³¹ so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:28-31