Lectio Divina
Read: “Yahweh called me from my mother’s womb”: Isaiah proclaims the sacredness and personal worth of every life fashioned by God. John the Baptist had a unique mission given by God. He was set apart from the very beginnings of his life, as Zechariah and Elizabeth had already known.
Reflect: It is tempting for parents to consider their children to be extensions of their own lives, who should preserve the lineage and family interests or achieve the unfulfilled dreams of their own lives. The birth of John is a sharp rebuttal to such automated expectations. Every child is a unique creation of God with a clear mission from Him to fulfill. She or he may become even a total rupture from the family interests and traditions and they will inhabit a world unfamiliar to us. Our task as parents and mentors is to rein in our narcissistic dreams for them and help them discern and realize God’s dreams for them.
Pray: Pray for the children of the world to grow God-centered.
Act: Talk to a child enabling her/him to recognize her/his primary belongingness to God and what it entails.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2018