Hey mums, did you know we're all ONE in Jesus?!


Galatians 3:26 -28.  So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male or female, for you are all ONE in Christ Jesus.


I've been reflecting on this verse in light of the many ideas I ponder in the world of Christian parenting.

When Paul wrote this verse to the Galatians he wanted to remind them to not give up the freedom that had been won for them on the cross through Jesus' death.  Instead of embracing freedom they were being tempted to follow the old laws, rules, regulations, structures.  It was almost like the freedom was too much.  They wanted more structure, more control.  More boxes to tick and cross that would assure them whether or not they were 'in' or 'out'.

But Paul reminds them that only faith in Jesus' work on the cross brings you into God's family.  Nothing more, nothing less.

Sometimes I wonder if as Christian parents we take away from the freedom we have under Christ by creating (and defending) our own distinctions. With the unspoken implication being that those who are doing it 'properly' are more Christian.

Here are some sweeping generalisations that I've experienced in my time as a mum.

Homeschooling (more Christian).  Working mother (less Christian).  Daily family devotionals (more Christian).  Strict sleep routines (more Christian).  Child watches television (less Christian).  Immaculate house (more Christian).  Lunches from school canteen (less Christian).  Perhaps you've had experiences of this in your own context.  And each context has it's own subtleties.

But as Paul has reminded the Galatians, there isn't a more or less way of being a Christian.  You either trust in Jesus or you don't.  It's free.  It's simple.

Comments

Sarah S said…
Perfect! I've been reading Galatians with a group and I've been needing examples of our freedom in Christ that aren't specifically "religious". Thank you wise friend.
Tasmanian said…
I love your "more Christian" and "less Christian" labels - when you put it like that, it really does look ridiculous.
Catherine said…
Love it! Thanks for these reminders!
Sarah said…
In my context, I've found that immaculate house = less Christian...and that's not just for mums, but for all Christians. It seems that people who have neater houses are often seen as control freaks (and therefore don't trust God enough), too influenced by American homemaking blogs/books, anti-social (too worried about having people over who might mess up their clean house) etc.

Very interesting. :)
Anonymous said…
Love it!! and agree totally.
Sandra said…
I think we need to come to terms that we are accountable to God for our actions, not each other. So if we stopped making'godly' judgements on each other about what school we send our kids to, whether we work full time, part time or not at all, whether our house belongs in Vogue or renovation rescue etc we could all focus on actually serving God and each other effectively and caringly.
I always thought those sorts of generalisations were about as legitimate as mums who think because their child has gets it's teeth early/walks early/is toilet trained early guarentees them a membership of mensa.

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