September 22 Martha's Musings

I watched a couple of my favorite TV shows the other day, and they reminded me of my youth. Not in a good way. The teenagers on each show argued with their parents. The kids did not agree with whatever the issue was, and were most eager to debate Mom and Dad so that they could “make their point”. I recall doing that, and I did not have any better luck with that strategy than did the teens on the TV. Fortunately, I grew up and had children of my own, who did the same thing to me, and I recognized a very valuable point: agreement is not necessary, but obedience is required. As a parent, one makes decisions regularly, about all kinds of things. Some of these things are insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but some are of major importance. The decisions that matter are the ones that will educate, protect, and inspire your children. I learned early on that my children had plenty of friends – being their “friend” was not my job. They only had one mother, lucky little me, and that job came with many responsibilities and a boatload of blessings. I see now that our relationship with God is very similar. God is, after all, our Heavenly Father, and He created us in His image. We are important to God, and we should NEVER take that for granted. God has kindly given us rules to follow and the Bible to lean on should we have questions. And we will have questions. But once again, agreement with the rules is not necessary – but OBEDIENCE IS REQUIRED. The tablets God gave to Moses held the Ten Commandments – not the Ten Suggestions. They are not debatable. They were literally engraved in stone. No amount of whining and complaining is going to change things. It didn’t work with our parents, it didn’t work between us and our children, and it will not work with God. It is best to remember that and hold your questions until you are living behind those Holy Gates, and in the presence of God. But I doubt that when we are in God’s presence, any of those questions will matter anymore.

Blessings,
Martha Arizpe, Prayer Team Ministry