We Give Account

Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the LORD, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.’” Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. Romans 14:10-12

PARENTING really matters to us. We want to get it right, and we’re aware of the many ways in which we don’t. So in our desperation to prop ourselves up in the parenting department, we are sometimes tempted to sit in judgment over other parents. We judge them to be too involved or completely oblivious, too lax or too harsh. From our vantage point, we’re quite sure their kids’ struggles are a result of their compromises and inconsistencies.

But Paul calls us down from the perch from which we look down on our brothers and sisters. He reminds us that we are all destined to stand before one Judge —one high and holy Judge before whom we will be required to give a personal account for how we’ve parented the children he has entrusted to us.

Jesus said that we will give an account on Judgment Day for every idle word we have spoken. Oh my. Harsh words. Unhelpful words. Hypocritical words. Jesus told the story of a steward who was entrusted with resources and called to account for how he invested them upon the master’s return. We, too, will be called to give an account on the day our Master returns. Oh my. We’ve been given so much time and so many financial, spiritual, and educational resources to raise children who will love and serve the Lord. But we know we’ve wasted time, wasted opportunities, and wasted effort on things that simply don’t matter while neglecting what will matter for eternity. We simply have no standing to judge others. We stand in need of mercy.

Lord, we ask your forgiveness for the condescending comments and quick judgments we’ve made about the ways other people parent their kids. We ask your help to keep our focus on being ready to stand before you ourselves instead of on pointing out the failures of others. How could we persist in extending anything but mercy to others when you have granted so much mercy to us?