Friday, June 28, 2002
As the kids were growing up, my wife and I would sometimes sneak into the kitchen to - well, the kids said it was to "smooch." We were known to occasionally grab a quick hug and kiss in what we thought was a private spot. One time when I started "smooching" with my wife, I forgot that our baby son was sitting there in his high chair. Suddenly, in the midst of this romantic moment, I hear this laughing, and clapping, and banging on his high chair tray. It was like he was saying, "Go for it, Mommy and Daddy!" And over the years, we would be hugging sometimes when we suddenly felt a little person wiggling in between us - sometimes two little persons, or even three. And invariably, we'd see big blue eyes looking up at us, and one of our kids saying, "Mommy, Daddy - can I be in the middle of your love?"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "In the Middle of Your Love."
If you're a parent, that's exactly where your children are supposed to be - in the middle of your love for your husband or wife and their love for you. God makes that very clear in our word for today from the Word of God in Malachi 2:13-15.
God's people are wondering why they seem to be getting no response from God in spite of all their spiritual activity. God says, "You flood the Lord's altar with tears. You weep and wail because He no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, 'Why?' It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are His." So, God says people are not experiencing His blessing because they aren't keeping their promises that they made to the person they married. He intends for them to be functioning in unity.
Then comes the surprising reason why God is so concerned that a husband and wife be loving each other as they should. He says, "And why one? Because He was seeking godly offspring." In other words, God is saying, "If Mom and Dad are treating each other right, the kids will turn out right. If Mom and Dad's love isn't what it should be, who knows how the kids are going to turn out?"
Your children are supposed to be caught in the overflow of you and your spouse loving one another, not loved instead of you loving one another. And it may be that you have allowed that love to atrophy, to drift, to turn to resentment ... or coldness ... or neglect. And while your child is still getting loved, they aren't in the middle of your love for one another. A child's security, a child's stability is in knowing that the love from which they came is still going strong!
So maybe it's time to do whatever you must do to rekindle the original flame. There was a time when you thought you couldn't live without that person. Would you focus on the things you once loved, on the hope factors in your relationship, on whatever apologizing, forgiving, counseling, or communicating it's going to take to rekindle that love?
Your son or daughter is quietly asking, "Mommy, Daddy - can I be in the middle of your love?" Do whatever it takes to make sure the answer is yes.