“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”
Matthew 23:37-39 NIV

“Look, your house is left to you desolate.”
As a parent, it can be difficult to point out the consequences of choices to our children. When we watch them make bad decisions, as they deviate from God’s will and correction comes, the culmination of events leaves us weary and sad.

I served in youth ministry for almost 14 years before moving to where I serve now, and I saw many parents dealing with the decisions their children made. Some parents were caring and concerned and offered guidance, others responded in anger and with punishment. Some chided and shamed while others tried to build back up. I could go on, and I will not speak toward any specifics, but suffice it to say, I have seen pretty much everything come down the pike.

Jesus stands as the mediator between the righteous, holy Father and Him rebellious children. As He shares woes and pronounces plainly what their rationalizations had hidden from their eyes. Hypocrisy was rampant, double-standards ran their minds. Their hearts were wayward and their love was cold. Jesus saw and pronounced what needed to be corrected in their hearts, but He also knew that their response wouldn’t change in regards to His message.

As we stand one week out from remembering His Passion, we are reminded once again that how we receive correction speaks deeply to where our hearts are in Christ. We also hear compassion in Jesus’ voiced as He desires to gather them under His protection and we are reminded that while God is and must be just, that He also carries a concern so deep that He offered to stand in for us in regards to our deserved judgment.

When correcting our children, or others we have influence with for the sake of Christ, we must always strive to do it in a way that mirrors the heart of Christ. We are not called to be Pharisaical finger waggers, but purveyors of the compassion, love and Word given to us. The gospel message is not to be treated as a rod of discipline, but a staff of direction. Are there times for discipline and correction? Of course, and we do it carefully and in love in accordance with the scriptures. But our main goal is to teach others the life and response of love to the love given us by the One who desires to gather us under His wings. Submission to Christ, baptism into Him, and the life of love that follows is a humble exercise, encompassed in mercy, laced with compassion and gilded in love. So, GoLove and share those Christ-like qualities with those who need it most. It is for His glory that we serve and from His amazing heart that we aid in the gathering of the wayward.