Jesus Gets It

"Square up your body. Pull the puck back. Shift your weight to your back leg. Push the puck forward as you shift your weight from one leg to the other. Point your stick in the direction you want the puck to go."

I don't know how many times I repeated those words to my youngest as we spent an hour practicing her hockey shooting on the driveway last night. It sure sounds like I know what I'm talking about, right?

But there's something you should know. I have never shot a hockey puck in a game in my life. I have absolutely no idea what that feels like. I had to have her coach demonstrate the mechanics of shooting to me at her last practice so I could help her improve.

Unlike many of the kids on her hockey team, my daughter has two parents who know very little about the mechanics of the game. I've been watching hockey my whole life. My brother played youth hockey. I've watched enough to understand the strategy and know where she should be on the ice at certain times. But I have no idea how to tell her to perform a hockey stop, how to shoot the puck, how to stickhandle or how to skate backwards. She's at a distinct disadvantage in that respect.

But, unlike my youngest, we are not at a disadvantage when it comes to Jesus knowing what we are going through. Because Jesus became a man, walked on the earth and died for us, He knows everything that we experience as humans. He understands the emotions, the frustrations and the joys of living in this world because He did it.  Hebrews 4:15 tells us "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin."

Jesus gets it. He understands what it's like to be tempted to sin. He understands what it's like to have a rotten week. He understands what it's like to have others talk behind your back. Because He lived it. He can understand and empathize with our situation.

Just like us, our kids need to know that Jesus understands their situation. They need to be reminded that Jesus was once a kid, too. We don't have a lot of information about Jesus as a child, but we do know that He had a mom and dad and brothers and sisters. He got left at the temple. He probably didn't always agree with His siblings. The difference between Jesus and a regular kid is that even as a child He never sinned. But He can understand everything that your kids are going through because He was once a child, too.

Help your kids understand the importance of Jesus being in human in how He can relate to us:

• Ask your kids to explain to you how to do something that they have never done before. Choose something outrageous like flying an airplane or cooking a turkey. See what they have to say. Then, talk about what that task really looks like. Talk about how difficult it is to tell someone how to do things we have never done ourselves. Remind them that Jesus lived on earth as a man, so He understands all the things that your kids do. He knew what it was like to obey your parents and get along with your siblings.
• Learn something new with your child. Make a new recipe or build a new Lego creation. Do something that requires following directions. Talk about how the person who wrote the directions had to have done the task before. Otherwise, that person would be giving directions about something they knew nothing about. The directions are much easier to follow because that person had done them before. Tell your child that Jesus is like the person who wrote the directions. He came to earth and lived as a man. That means He understands everything that we go through. He understands our emotions and our temptations. He knows what it's like to have your friends turn against you and what it's like to have others disapprove of your actions. He understands because He was here.

It's so important for our kids to realize the Jesus became a man. Yes, He was a perfect man, but He experienced all the trials and joys of being human. When we bring our troubles and tough situations to Him, He can relate because He has been there.

Jesus's death and resurrection offers us salvation and power, but His life as a man allows Him to offer us understanding and empathy.

Remember, there's no situation in your life or your kids' lives that Jesus can't understand. He's not stuck relying on someone else's knowledge to help us. He's been there and done that. And that's to our advantage.

Fostering Understanding

Today, I'm going to talk about a concept that has become something of a dirty word in our society -- tolerance. So many times a disagreement will degenerate into someone calling someone else intolerant, simply because they don't agree on an issue. Many times, people will call Christ-followers intolerant because we believe that Jesus is the only way to a relationship with God.

Jesus, himself, said "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). However, Jesus was also the picture of understanding. He hung out with the poor, the tax collectors and the sick. These were people who were normally shunned in His society. No one could accuse Him of being intolerant.

We want to foster the qualities of compassion and understanding in our children. We want them to exhibit those qualities just like Jesus did. Yesterday, we talked about how to support your kids when they make choices that are outside the accepted norm among their peers. Today, let's discuss the importance of teaching our kids to accept others who may not fit the stereotypical mold and even to live at peace with those that they may not necessarily get along with all the time.

My oldest daughter has a child in her class that the other kids have decided to pick on. My oldest has an inborn sense of compassion that makes her go out of her way to help others to start with, but the plight of this little boy really bothers her. We've talked about it over and over again throughout the year. She's decided the best thing she can do is to simply continue to treat this little boy just like she would any other child in her class. Several times she's found herself in the position of standing up for this child to the others. That's the way we want our kids to act when faced with a situation where a child is different.

Creating compassion and understanding for others is a process that can only be fostered at home. What your kids see at home is how they will act when they are away from you. Even with children that they tend to butt heads with, we want our kids to act with compassion and understanding. Romans 12:18 says "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." Compassion and understanding go a long way toward helping your kids to live at peace with everyone.

To help foster compassion and understanding, try some of these ideas:

• Remind your kids that God loves everyone, including those children who are different or who rub them the wrong way.
• Add the kids with whom your children are having trouble to your family prayer list. Nothing takes away animosity like praying for someone. It's hard to hang onto anger or frustration when you're praying for someone.
• Encourage your children to be champions of the "weak." Point out times when Jesus championed someone who was disliked or considered weak in His society. Celebrate the times when your kids stand up for others in the face of ridicule or peer pressure. Create a Champion award that you give to your child when they show compassion and understanding to someone else.
• Point out to your children some famous people that were different as children. Albert Einstein had trouble learning to read. His teachers thought He was stupid.  He went on to become probably the most famous scientist. Talk about what the world would have been like if everyone had given up on Einstein.
• Model compassion and understanding for your kids. Look for ways that you can stand up for others in your own life. When your kids see you doing it, it will become easier for them to do it as well.

Offering compassion and understanding to others doesn't mean that you always have to agree with them. Jesus didn't always agree with what the people He helped were doing, but He loved them anyway. We can show compassion and understanding to others without offering approval to everything they do. The goal is to love like Jesus loved, so that others can see Jesus in us.