What sacred things has God entrusted me with?
What consumes my mind lately is overcoming my anger. It is
what I pray about and worry about and think about and read about. I feel like
in the context of my life currently, the sacred things God has entrusted me
with are my children. And through them, if I am trustworthy is this call, he
will show forth his power to future generations. I have to stop being angry and
treat them as sacred, because they are. As I began reading the inspiration I
got about this is that I have to let being kind be more important than whatever
I am trying to get done. I have to be willing to sacrifice being on time or
getting things done the way I think they have to be in order to be kind. Somehow
everything else but loving them has taken on more importance. But they are
sacred!
Which makes verse 15 very scary. If I transgress the
commandments of God these sacred things shall be taken away from me. It reminds
me of the man from the addiction
videos who lost his family. But it is true on a more intimate level as
well, I will lose their trust and respect and love. I will lose the power to
teach them by the Spirit, to help them find God. It is scary, but I know it is
real, and I know I have to be calm and more Christ-like in my parenting.
And verse 16 is so hopeful. If I treat my sacred children as
the Lord has commanded me, and look to Him always in how to take care of them,
nothing can take them away. That is the sealing power of the temple right
there. If I keep my covenants and rely on my Savior, if I love them and keep my
home a safe haven from evil, if I treat them as the sacred beings they are…and
stop being angry….NOTHING can ever take them away, through all eternity.
Which also teaches me something we need to do better in our
parenting. We give our kids commandments, like in verse 14, and we teach them
about the consequences, like in verse 15, of breaking those rules, but we never
focus on the blessings and joy of living the gospel. That is what we need to do
better. I am making the mistake of teaching about a mean God on accident, by
only focusing on the negative. We need to teach the rewards better. In specific
situations. Always
