Prayer of Confession
Rachel was asked to write the prayer of confession for our church this Sunday. Her language here is very thoughtful and deliberate. Shelly helped her brainstorm sins she could pray about but she wrote the prayer. We are blessed by her pure heart and contrite spirit. God is using Rachel in powerful ways to point others toward Himself. Thank you, God, for Rachel.
Sent from my iPhone
Seeing this makes me want to cry. Makes me want to hug this little girl and tell her that she’s perfect the way she is. How bizarre must be the world of a person who can look at a little girl who tries so hard and tell her that she’s a terrible sinner and deserves the wrath of a deity who is personally responsible for murder of millions, who commanded others to murder millions, and in whose name countless other millions were murdered; and that this little girl will not be whole until she obtains the supposed forgiveness of such deity.
http://rosarubicondior.blogspot.com/2011/11/parenting-for-christians.html
Andy: We’re not teaching Rachel she “deserves the wrath of a deity who is personally responsible for murder of millions.”
We’re also not teaching her she’s a terrible person. Quite the contrary: God has created her wonderfully in His own image.
We are teaching her that we’re all tempted to act selfishly in ways that can hurt others, and in ways that go against God’s will for our lives. We’re all tempted to make bad choices. Even wonderful little 8 year old girls, and 40 something year old dads. We all sin and are tempted to sin.
I think Rachel’s prayer to “Help us to love others and make better choices” is a heartfelt expression of how she understands these ideas.
This doesn’t have anything to do with people killing in God’s name in the past or today.