Heart Shepherding

James 5:19-20

Though we don't have kids, we really want to see God's desire for our home.  My husband and I went to a parenting conference led by Paul Tripp.  He taught that parenting is an act of shepherding a child's heart to the living, gracious God.  The one thing that hit me hard is that Mr. Tripp said that when children get "caught" it's an act of God's love.  When a parent has the opportunity to discipline her child, she is extending God's grace to that child.  God's love desires that child to repent, to grow, to mature.

Wow.

Wow.

I needed to hear this.

Because the same is true for us.  When we get corrected, re-directed, spoken to with the Gospel - most of the time it hurts because pride is wounded, shame is exposed.  But, this is God's love.  This is God bringing us back to himself.

And when we see someone who is slipping through the cracks or seems to be stumbling or even lollygagging... it is a glorious thing to offer the good, sweet balm of the Gospel.  It might be about a verse taken out of context.  It might be about a choice of sin.  It might be about a selfish outlook.  Whatever the context, God's grace is waiting to be extended.