Christ's Character
Yesterday morning, plans for my early morning jog fell through, so instead of turning over and going back to bed, I decided to stay up and use the extra time to have a super good devotion.....and I was glad I did. I read about Christ's sacrifice for us which created a way of escape for us. We can not do it on our own, but if we give our lives over to Him, "Christ's character stands in place of [our] character" (Steps to Christ, 62). That really hit home because often I find my character lacking very much - so to know that Christ gives us His character was very exciting and enlightening to me.
Later that day, I found myself dealing with a student who was continually making fun of other students. After a fair warning, I felt the need to follow through with a detention. He had been well aware of the consequences, so I explained to him that, by his actions, he had choosen to have a detention. The moment this reality sunk in to his 3rd grader mind, he began to cry. Not just silent tears - they gushed immediately with loud wails of protest. It didn't stop there......He began begging to be released from the detention, pounding his fists against his body, and repeated screaming: "I want to die; I'm going to kill myself."
This worried me. I had not yet dealt with a tantrum to this degree and was not sure how to handle the situation. But I thought back to my morning devotion, and remembered that Christ is willing to give us His character. I prayed that His character would shine through in this situation, and I believe that it did. I was firm, but fair. I gave him time to express his anger and frustration, but still gave him the detention. In the end, he calmed down and the situation worked itself out, but I truly feel that it was Christ's character, not my own, that allowed me to handle the situation.
Later that day, I found myself dealing with a student who was continually making fun of other students. After a fair warning, I felt the need to follow through with a detention. He had been well aware of the consequences, so I explained to him that, by his actions, he had choosen to have a detention. The moment this reality sunk in to his 3rd grader mind, he began to cry. Not just silent tears - they gushed immediately with loud wails of protest. It didn't stop there......He began begging to be released from the detention, pounding his fists against his body, and repeated screaming: "I want to die; I'm going to kill myself."
This worried me. I had not yet dealt with a tantrum to this degree and was not sure how to handle the situation. But I thought back to my morning devotion, and remembered that Christ is willing to give us His character. I prayed that His character would shine through in this situation, and I believe that it did. I was firm, but fair. I gave him time to express his anger and frustration, but still gave him the detention. In the end, he calmed down and the situation worked itself out, but I truly feel that it was Christ's character, not my own, that allowed me to handle the situation.
Comments
Keep up the great work. God is using you :)