By: Amanda Douglas

As we trudge through the Lenten season, it is often a time of reflection. We reflect on various scripture verses, the passion account, and our own sin. We reflect on what Christ really did on the cross: the sin He bore for us, the fact that He overcame sin, death, and the devil. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.

In my last blog, “Jesus Died for All Part 1,” I gave some examples of individuals that Christ died and rose again for. In this entry, I will give a few more examples. I can’t state enough the importance of reflecting on our neighbors who are redeemed in Christ. Sometimes we forget that we are all sinners. Sometimes we need a reminder that we are all more alike than different.

Jesus died for the rebellious child.

That child. The one you don’t want your children to play with. The one who is a bad influence. The one who is always attention-seeking in all the wrong ways. Annoying. Bratty. Inconsiderate.
Blech.

Children act out more often than not because of circumstances in their lives that are beyond their control. Maybe they have a physical or mental illness. Maybe they were put in traumatic situations. Maybe they have abuse or neglect in their background. If they aren’t being treated very well by their immediate family members, their unsavory actions could be a cry for help. Instead of help, they are met with dirty looks and isolation by other children and adults.

Many times, children in foster care have endured traumas that lead to their rebellious behaviors.
How can we help them heal and grow from their circumstances?

As Christian adults, we should not look at them based on their actions. We should immediately see their actions as a sign of something deeper. Compassion and empathy are the answers to a difficult child. We should be finding ways to engage these children in ways that show them they are loved. These situations can be delicate. If you aren’t in a position of authority in that child’s life, a smile, a kind word, and a silent prayer can go a long way.

As parents, depending on the situation, you may not want your child around this “rebellious child.” In certain situations, that can be okay. Our job as parents is to find the balance between allowing our kids to be exposed to the world but not be overcome by it. A rebellious child with all types of worldly pursuits could be a hindrance to our children’s spiritual growth. When this is the case, gently allowing playtime in small doses is a perfectly loving way to show that child God’s love while not allowing corruptive behaviors to penetrate your child’s heart and mind. I want to greatly emphasize that I am speaking of the behavior of the “rebellious child” and not the child themselves. They are precious gifts given to us by God to love and serve, like any of our neighbors. Unfortunately, due to circumstances in that child’s life, whether through trauma, mental health issues, or the like, their acts of rebellion prevent them from allowing us to fully love them.

There are so many different situations. We live in a world submerged in sin. Some families have the rebellious child. God can use any situation for good. We feel you. We see you. We love you AND your child.

In a future blog, I may elaborate on this topic as it is so vast and has many different scenarios and categories, and I feel I wouldn’t do the topic justice without a more detailed explanation.

Jesus died for the prisoner.

Pastor Krenz of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Columbia, IL reflected on this topic in our Spring newsletter (not on our e-newsletter list? Sign up here). He writes:

“Several years ago, I did fill-in chaplaincy work at a couple of state prisons. My primary role was to lead the weekly Lutheran worship services and then have a Bible class after the service. Usually, we had five to ten prisoners participate in both the worship service and Bible class. I found this type of ministry to be very rewarding, and I was impressed with how well these prisoners knew their Bible and its teachings. It is never a good idea to ‘wing it’ when it comes to Bible class, but this became especially true when meeting with this group. I was most surprised at how normal my interactions with many of these men were. Some had gone to Lutheran schools, many had been in the church most of their life, and others were in regular dialogue with their fellow prisoners about the faith. My interactions with these men were, in many ways, quite like my weekly interactions with congregational members. The distance between congregational sinners and imprisoned sinners is not as far as one would think. As we embark on this ministry to help women and their children reunite and grow in their relations with each other, it is good to remember that the differences between us and them are not as wide as we might initially think. This is humbling, but I think key to serving not only these women and their families but so many others God places in our lives. This is the way of Jesus toward us. He came down as one of us, and yet without sin. He came down to absorb in His body all our sin, all our sorrow, all our separations, and all our sicknesses. As a result of all this, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we now live by faith. A faith that believes that forgiveness, life, and salvation have landed upon us. Praise God!!”

The line, “As we embark on this ministry to help women and their children reunite and grow in their relations with each other, it is good to remember that the differences between us and them are not as wide as we might initially think,” is so true. Our mission at Eve’s Restoration Ministries to rebuild and reunite safe families echoes the idea that the difference between an addict, an absent parent, a rebellious child, and a prisoner is not much different from the person sitting next to you in the church pew.

Sometimes we forget that vulnerable and “rebellious children” who do not get the support they need become adults. Ask an addict, prison inmate, or the like about their childhood. A study taken from the National Library of Medicine titled, “Foster care, permanency, and risk of prison entry,” states: “On the whole, nearly 13% of the sample entered state prison between their 18th and 23rd birthdays. This was in part driven by high rates among the small group of youth who exited foster care to a detention facility or went AWOL/ran away from foster care and were not returned to care: 48.2 percent of those youth entered prison, as did 19.1% of youth who went AWOL.”

There is a direct correlation between children who enter foster care who later go on to have a criminal record and/or end up in the prison system.

Everyone sins, and everyone sins differently. My struggle may not be your struggle. Your struggle may not be my struggle. The fact is, if we are all going to wrestle with sin, why not turn first to Christ and then to each other for help?

Eve’s Restoration Ministries’ first project is to open a home for mothers seeking to reunify with their children in foster care. These mothers (and children) have many issues to overcome. Instead of looking upon them with eyes of pity, apathy, or misunderstanding, why not look through the lens of grace? We love because God in Christ first loved us. We forgive because Christ forgives us. We serve because Christ did the ultimate service for us on that cross on Calvary. ❤️

Find more information about Eve’s Restoration Ministries here.
For more information about the LCMS Prison Ministry in Southern IL, click here.