{"id":3088,"date":"2012-09-12T06:20:29","date_gmt":"2012-09-12T10:20:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=3088"},"modified":"2012-09-12T06:20:29","modified_gmt":"2012-09-12T10:20:29","slug":"kind-and-stern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/09\/kind-and-stern.html","title":{"rendered":"Kind and stern"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Walking tall and straight, she had a commanding effect when she entered a room. \u00a0Even after strokes, sickness and the loss of language, Frances sat erect in her wheelchair and her presence demanded attention. \u00a0Frances wasn’t a woman who entertained fools. \u00a0Frances spoke through the experience of years in prayer and studying God’s word. \u00a0Often, her words were stern and sharp, reaching into the souls of men and women and pulling out the most heart wrenching hurts. \u00a0Then she would pray for healing and release. \u00a0And God answered her pleas for mercy and grace again and again.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Roman 11 speaks of the kindness and sterness of God. \u00a0Our Lord is unbelievably kind to those who follow him. Yet, unrelentlessly stern to women and men who refuse to trust and release themselves into his saving grace. \u00a0It is a part of God’s nature from which even his most faithful worshipers turn away because of humanity’s lack of understanding into the nature of our Father.<\/p>\n

However, Paul tells us that it is God’s sternness that allows us to see your own inability to handle even the most simple details of life. \u00a0It is the Father’s unrelenting pressure pushing us away from Him into greater depth of \u00a0sin–wrapped in our rebellion–which drives us to His loving forgiveness and grace.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As Frances’ daughter I was often the target of her sterness and the object of her love. \u00a0In pondering Roman 11, I’ve yearned for the Lord to teach me the truth of his character revealed in these startling verses. \u00a0He drew my thoughts back to my own mother, Frances. \u00a0She was never the tender and compassionate matriarch. Frances was the teacher and leader who gave firm directions with her eyes, her actions and her words. \u00a0However, there was never a doubt regarding her love for us.<\/p>\n

Frances’ selfless love often extendied past her family into a lost and dying world. \u00a0While her words and actions seemed stern to those closest to Frances, we never doubted her heart was kind, forgiving and merciful. \u00a0This is the picture of our loving Father revealed by Paul in Romans 11.<\/p>\n

32<\/sup>\u00a0God has given all people over to their stubborn ways so that he can show mercy to all.<\/p>\n

\u00a033<\/sup>\u00a0Yes, God’s riches are very great, and his wisdom and knowledge have no end! No one can explain the things God decides or understand his ways.\u00a034<\/sup>\u00a0As the Scripture says,<\/h5>\n

“Who has known the mind of the Lord,
\nor who has been able to give him advice?” \u2014\u00a0Isaiah 40:13<\/em>
\n35<\/sup>\u00a0“No one has ever given God anything
\nthat he must pay back.” \u2014\u00a0Job 41:11<\/em><\/p>\n

36<\/sup>\u00a0Yes, God made all things, and everything continues through him and for him. To him be the glory forever! Amen.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Walking tall and straight, she had a commanding effect when she entered a room. \u00a0Even after strokes, sickness and the loss of language, Frances sat erect in her wheelchair and her presence demanded attention. \u00a0Frances wasn’t a woman who entertained fools. \u00a0Frances spoke through the experience of years in prayer and studying God’s word. \u00a0Often,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3,40,186,49,16,8,263,4,41],"tags":[690,7,699,262,715,701,694,57,517,6,700,518],"class_list":["post-3088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-redemption","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-gods-grace","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-prayer","tag-romans-11","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-spirituality","tag-stern-and-kind"],"yoast_head":"\nKind and stern - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/09\/kind-and-stern.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kind and stern - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Walking tall and straight, she had a commanding effect when she entered a room. \u00a0Even after strokes, sickness and the loss of language, Frances sat erect in her wheelchair and her presence demanded attention. \u00a0Frances wasn’t a woman who entertained fools. \u00a0Frances spoke through the experience of years in prayer and studying God’s word. \u00a0Often,…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/09\/kind-and-stern.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-09-12T10:20:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2012\/09\/older-womn.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. 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