Let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another

 

It is difficult to estimate the damage done by saying to a child:

 

You'll never amount to anything. You can't do anything right, can you? Why can't you be like him? You're no son of mine! I'm not going to invest any more money in you. You're just like all the other kids.

 

Why not communicate your trust instead and give your child something to live up to? See the potential, not the problems. Looking for the good in your children will bring out the best in them and you.

 

Imagine how Peter felt when Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas (which translated means Peter [rock])" (John 1:42). Peter went on about his business of fishing. Sometime later Jesus called him to be a disciple. After Peter's great confession that Jesus was the Christ, Jesus said to him, "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church" (Matthew 16:18). What confidence Jesus expressed in a smelly, uneducated fisherman who would later deny Him three times!

 

Would you have chosen Peter and expressed confidence in Him? Would you have stuck with Peter after he betrayed you? Jesus did, and He is sticking with you, too. He has entrusted you with His message, gifted you to serve, and blessed you with children. Are you trustworthy? Not completely. But His trust sure gives you something to live up to, doesn't it? Your trust in your child can do the same for him.

 

Prayer: Loving Father, help me not to focus on my children's limitations and weaknesses but to notice and affirm their potential.