Charity Begins at Home

It's taken me a year to start to blog about my son being in prison.  I think they call that denial.  It's always on my mind, but I don't talk about it much.  There is an amount of shame that goes with it.  The loss of his company and ease of contact has been very difficult for me.  I have a hard time with the fact that most of the family doesn't seem to grieve his absence.  His behavior and treatment of others bred this.  He is not an innocent victim. 

What I have learned through this process, so far, is the meaning of true charity.  In our religion, we see the definition of charity as the "pure love of Christ."  Think about that.  To love as Christ loves.  I pair that definition with the old motto - "Charity begins at home."  I DON'T interpret that as meaning we have to GIVE to family first.   I take it to mean we should love as Christ loves, judge as Christ judges - and begin this practice within our own family first.  That doesn't always happen, does it?  We tend to treat (and judge) our family members harder and with less compassion than those outside our home.  Our defenses are down and it's easy to snap out a harsh judgement, a less-than-flattering comment, or be short tempered and selfish.  Our home is our training ground in so MANY areas.  Of course it would be the place to practice selfless love!

Have I always done that?  Do I do it every day now?  No.  Am I aware of the task before me, the challenge the Lord was placed in my development?  Absolutely.  The only TRUE success I have had so far is in seeing my son as a child of God rather than the accumulation of his actions, choices, and past history.  Through is experience, I can now see the child of God in each person...no matter how despicable.  I KNOW how the Lord views each of us.  Despite all our choices, actions, and deaf ears.  That love has no bounds.  He loves Hitler as much as he loves Christ.  Chew on that one a while.  He LOVES each and every one of his children, no matter how they feel about Him.  Or if they recognize Him.  Of if they blaspheme His name. 

He doesn't approve of their actions.  He doesn't excuse their choices.  He mourns them.  He aches over the loss of their company in the eternities ahead.  He sees them for what they are - and LOVES them - and hopes, beyond hope, that they will change and come back to His way.  And I think His process goes way beyond what I can even conceive or communicate.  I know, in a small mother's way, the depth of His love and concern for those who do not walk  in His footsteps.  And it overwhelms me.