Mom Set FreeНамуна

I can remember, so clearly, the first time I heard the expression, “Be the person you want your children to become.” I had two children at the time, ages four and two, but my third was on the way. And I was a mess. Overwhelmed, discouraged, and disappointed in who I’d become—as my weaknesses and shortcomings were all being revealed and magnified through motherhood. So you can imagine the grief and despair I felt when I read an article urging me to be the person I wanted my children to become. Because, here’s the thing—I thought that being the person I wanted them to become meant being perfect. I thought God was relying on me to be a perfect example for my kids to follow. 

We must remember, though, our children don’t need us to be the perfection of Christ. They need to see us in pursuit of Christ. They need us to point them to Christ. They need to see the power of Christ made perfect in our weaknesses.

We see this so beautifully demonstrated in Paul’s own life.

Read 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.

Paul shifted from begging God to remove his thorn to being glad to boast about the weaknesses it revealed—all at the mention of God’s all-sufficient grace. 

Grace is the unearned and undeserved favor of God. 

Grace is the means by which God saves, sustains, sanctifies, and strengthens us in the person and work of Jesus Christ. 

Grace has no limits or conditions. In fact, grace with conditions isn’t grace at all. 

Scripture doesn’t reveal the exact nature of Paul’s thorn—whether it was physical, psychological, or situational. But Scripture does tell us what the thorn was intended to do. 

The thorn was intended to keep Paul humble. Could it be that God loved Paul enough to give him the thorn to protect him from pride, to allow him to experience God’s grace in profound ways, and to keep Paul reliant on God to provide everything he would need? Grace has no limits or conditions. 

The Lord’s gracious assurance to Paul is the very same assurance He gives to you and to me. When we are striving but not succeeding at being flawless examples for our kids to follow, God says, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So, just like the apostle Paul, we can boldly respond, So now I can be glad to be honest with my children about my weaknesses, so that the divine power of Christ can work through me in my parenting. When I confess I am weak, I am finally strong.