Teaching Children Forgiveness

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

Apparently when you mix the ingredients of a cake with an electric mixer, you should start on low speed. Well, not me. I’m all about saving time and getting things done fast. So you know what happened next. There is a reason you start on slow speed. What would have been a three minute mixing process became a 30 minute cleaning up process.

That’s what the mess of sin can be like in a family. We can all be dealing with our unique stresses and as a result our patience with each other grows thin. One person says something snarky and then someone else with a personality like mine gets their feelings hurt. Another person yells at everybody to be quiet and then the tiny one screams or throws something.

There are two words that can calm everyone fast. “I’m sorry.” And yeah, not the eyes rolling and the arms crossed while you say it with a dramatic flair. Just from the heart (preaching to myself). If I can just own my own sins and say I’m sorry, some of the fuel stops getting thrown on the fire of frazzled tempers.

There are three more words, though, that transform a hot mess in a family into a beautiful event. The words Jesus spoke from the cross for us. The words that save us. “I forgive you”. Those words don’t say it’s ok or we will just ignore what happened. They say you hurt me but it’s gone. I’m not going to punish you with my words or my silence. And Jesus doesn’t punish you. That’s so important for kids to know.

Watching a kid’s relief on their face when they hear those words is watching the Spirit of Life and Peace renew and grow their faith in God. Embrace these times as Jesus renews our hearts in his love.

A Daily Prayer:
Dear Jesus, we would be absolutely lost without your forgiveness. Help your love, not our selfish desires to be on our hearts as we live together in these stressful days. Please put your words in our mouth. Amen.