Proceed With Caution...

{Review of John 15:1-16:4}

This weeknd, we sat down with our two older boys to discuss safety.

We reviewed the rules about strangers, and the importance of following directions.

Have you had those difficult talks with your kids?

This time, we were explaining that unfortunately there are people in this world who want to do children harm.

We told them how our goal is to keep them safe...because we love them SO much.

Because they are another year older, and have grown in understanding, we also went into a little more detail about some specific cases. {Don't panic-we only shared age appropriate information, still-}

But it made an impact.

It did take a little bit away of their innocence, but it was done so out of love and concern for their welfare.

In John chapter 15, and 16 that is the motive behind Jesus' talk with His diciples.

Why did he spend His  time in the Upper Room  with His diciples giving warnings?

Because, like a parent, He was cautioning them out of love:

Jesus cautions them to remain in Him,

{John 15:1-8} 

John 15: 5

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

 

Jesus cautions them to love others,

{John 15: 9-17}

John 15: 12

"12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."

and finally,

Jesus cautions the diciples that there will be some who won't love you.

{John 15:18-16:4}

John 15: 21

21"They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me."

~Out of a parental kind of love:

John 16:1 (New International Version)

1"All this I have told you so that you will not go astray."

~Out of love.

Love is what motivated the safety talk we had with our two older boys this past weekend.

Love for them is what forces us to teach them to be cautious.

My mom (the wise woman that she is-) is the one who told my husband and I one time when our oldest was only sixteen months, "YOU are the advocate for your children. If You don't stand up for them, no one else will. No one else will care for them and love them as you do...so be the safety net, the love, and the guidance that they need you to be."

Have you had safety talks with your children?

What are some of the things you tell them to protect them from harm?

{See you next week for the book of 1John...I have a title swirling around in my head called "The Unloveables"...Do you have people like that in your life? [Uh, yes!?-] Are you one??? [Uh, sometimes?...] Read the book of First John, and come back on Tuesday, and we can share perspectives on those we sometimes call, "Unlovable".}