As I was praying the other day with our children, we were burdened with the reality of sin. They weren’t getting along and the morning was about to go sideways. So we stopped and spent some much-needed time in prayer. While praying, I was reminded of a visual of a magnet and its pull. On one side, it attracts, but on the other side, it repels. Our lives can also be like that.
My prayer was that we would be the part of the magnet that draws things to us that are good, like kindness, goodness and patience. That the things that aren’t good for us or others would repel away from us. Hurtful words, blatant actions to sin against God just to get the satisfaction of hurting someone else. We see this in children and think we are better than that, but are we?
If my words and actions are not God-honoring, then I am ignoring the power He has given me to walk in a manner that is pleasing to Him. We had to stop several times that day as I reminded them that the only way to know how to please God was to ask Him.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” Galatians 5:22-26