Wednesday, September 22, 2010

The Trinity and Childcare

Most people would not deny that running a childcare is tough. But you would be amazed at what kinds of things kids will do once they get into a routine. They will clean up their toys cheerfully, they will get their lunches, brush their own teeth, go to the bathroom, wait in line, eat nicely, and all sorts of things that normally you would never get them to do. So in one way, it is easier than people think.
In another way it is harder. Because the “community” is always changing. Every time a new child comes in, he or she throws everything off. Not only does the new child NOT clean up the toys, NOT eat nicely, etc. etc., they cause every other child to question the necessity of the task at hand. In short, they make a big mess of what was a nice peaceful community.
We all know that churches can be the worst for little cliche groups. We like them because everyone knows the routines, and no one really questions. And if someone new enters into the group, not only do they make us uncomfortable, but they also cause problems between others that seem like they never were there until the new person arrived.
God’s community is perfect. Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwelling together in perfect love and joy. And they invited us into their community. Why would they do that? If a new person seems to throw our little cliche group into a bit of chaos, then what kind of challenge would it be for a perfect community to accept evil sinners like you and me? How do we know how uncomfortable we made God’s community? We look at the cross. That was the cost of letting new people into the community of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The bloody, torturous death of Jesus Christ. He did it in love. That’s why.
As people who believe the gospel, we cannot allow ourselves to huddle in our safe little groups and reject people because they might change the dynamics in our careful group. As outsiders, we need to realize that even if no group ever accepts us, The best community in eternity has accepted us, at great cost. Let’s look for how the gospel applies to every area of life.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I suppose the thing to remember is to pause once in a while and think: "why do we do things this way, or have these rules? Is it still as important today as it was when we set out doing it?" etc. evaluate the scene once in a while. As time goes on rituals, rutines, and rules etc. build up and some can become redundant with fluvtuation. Expections should be resonable, but values and regulations should never be compromised. God has given His children much grace, but it should not be mistaken as patientce I think. And also, remember sometimes its the new kid who obeys the expectiations better than the others ;) and if they are not following the way, the new kid starts to wonder..... 'hummm why do I have to if they won't/don't?'