Not Ashamed.

Like many parents that have come before us, we have entered the eye-roll phase.  Truthfully there are a lot of eye-roll phases in parenting.  

"You can't climb on the fence." (eye-roll)

"Eat your vegetables." (eye-roll)

"That shirt doesn't match those shorts." (stomp, eye-roll, stomp, stomp)

In later years there's actually kind of a role-reversal eye-roll phase where you, as an adult, hear something from your grown parents and roll your eyes.

"Your father and I read this article last week...." (eye-roll)

But I'm talking about the phase of eye-rolling that communicates a general dissatisfaction with the fact that you're related.  We've all been there.  Our parents say something and we know we'll get grounded if we say we wish we belonged to a different family so we just roll our eyes and wait for the moment to pass.  Your reward for having endured so many of these situations as a youth is that you get to do the same thing to your own kids when you get older.  Sometimes I have know idea that what I'm about to say will embarrass them.  Other times I've become tired of reminding them to hang up their towels and am just straight up looking for an opportunity.  In either case, it is a firm assurance that they will one day grow up, move out and become their own eye-roll worthy human beings.  In the dance of parental guidance and developing independence, if you aren't embarrassing your kids you aren't doing it right!

But in the dance of salvation and adoption in Jesus Christ it's a much different story.  

"Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family.  So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters."  Hebrews 2:11

Y'all this is huge!  Early followers of Christ gave up a lot to belong to a Christian community.  They were often shunned by their family and society, losing their ties to the economy and giving up the support of kinship.  The writer of Hebrews is writing to remind fellow believers that they are not cast aside and forgotten.  Quite the opposite!  Belonging to Christ meant finding a different kind of family where members supported each other and encouraged one another regardless of birth or social status.  In a world that sought then to divide and label and scrutinize (and still does) in Christ there is no shame.  Let me say that again for the people in the back....

In Christ There Is No Shame.

We endure the eye-rolls of our children because this is part of the tension we experience in parenting but in Christ there is nothing to endure.  There is simply acceptance.  We are called to embrace this, for ourselves and for those around us.  I know this is not always easy.  I struggle both accepting Jesus' love for me AND remembering the same unconditional love is there for others.  Yes, the Lord knows how many times you have completely lost your cool during this time of quarantine.  He loves you anyway.  Do you?  Repent and believe.  And yes, the Lord knows the guy with the all the tigers and husbands is not perfect.  He loves him anyway.  Do you?  Repent and believe.  

We're family, folks, in the purest and most everlasting way.  We have Jesus.  He calls us his own.  And He is not ashamed.  

XOXO....Kelly

(Speaking of endurance, I feel like I endure a fair amount of ridiculousness from the various eye-rollers in this house.  Just sayin'.)