Love=Authority

Something that has been in my mind for the last couple of months has been a question that I ask myself when I pick up kids on the van route every Sunday and Wednesday. This question is simple but also complex! Why would a child come to church when they aren't forced to go to church, and they don't have the support they need at home to help them in life? I know the Lord is helping them come to church but so are the people in the church whether you know it or not, you are helping a child come over and over again to church without the support from their homes. How? One may ask. It is because the greatest thing we can show these children every Sunday and Wednesday is love. One major way we show this love and compassion is by exercising authority. Now, I am not saying that we yell at the kids and punish them because we are saying we love them that way. I am saying that at home they get little if any punishment at all for the things they do wrong so at church just by us exercising authority with them, it shows that we actually care enough about them to see them do right! This really never hit me like it has the last 3 months or so in ministry. I teach 18-24 kids every Sunday and 10-14 teens every Sunday and Wednesday and most of them are clamoring for some kind of authority in their lives. You know the best part about this is that we as Christians can show God's authority over sin and death with these kids. It all relates back to God! So through this, I have become better at understanding these kids and their needs. It has encouraged me to work with them even more and I pray it has for you too!