On the Spirit and the Letter

What happens when something is taken so far that we lose the actual intent and purpose behind it?

In this week's episode, we dig deep into the motivations of parenting choices and the heart that can lie behind the choices that we make as parents.

Drawing from St. Augustine's classic treatise, "On the Spirit and the Letter" we apply some of his principles that he draws from Scripture and bring it to some of the more controversial questions of parenting and the choices that we make in trying to parent and build a family according to God's design.

What we find is that it's not as easy as simply following a set of rules or blueprints, plugging in the proper formula and out comes the right mixture of a godly family. We must dig deeper than that as parents and allow the Spirit to penetrate the depths of our hearts and God's Word to reach into the depths of our spirits in order that He may find and refine our hearts for His good and godly purposes.

As Jesus said to the legalistic pharisees who thought they all had it right by simply following all the rules: "But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” - Matthew 9:13

Join us in the conversation as we share some our own self-examination as a couple on some weighty matters of parenting.

Check out St. Augustine's full writing here.