My son recently had to learn a very difficult lesson about personal responsibility. He learned that actions have consequences. In that moment, the light came on and he recognized his choices were not the best choices available. As his Father I had choice as well. I could have chosen to control his life or I could allow him to weight out the decisions. I chose the latter. In the end...I wasn't happy to see him struggle with his decision. Instead...I found myself hurting for him. My heart was heavy - not with disappointment - with pain. I hurt for him. I hated seeing him feel the weight of his decisions. However, in this moment came another moment where I gladly partnered with him in the right decisions. I was able to walk alongside him when he faced the consequences, repented of his former decisions, and resolved to take the appropriate actions.
Now...before you start speculating what my son could have possibly done, or questioning my judgment as a parent, I want to ask you a question: What do you do in the lives of your children to prepare them for life? How do you handle the possibility that they may get it wrong? Some people out of fear make sure they control every environment, every decision, and every consequence. In other words, we don't give them the option. Instead of creating a safe place for them to make mistakes...we make sure they never make them. As a parent who is following the Lord, it was my decision to give my kids grace - to give them the opportunity to succeed or the opportunity to fail. If they get it wrong I am able to come alongside them and show them a better path. For my son (in this particular instance) it means taking greater responsibility. I didn't take the responsibility away because he didn't handle it properly. NO...he felt the weight of his poor choices and he learned a lesson that he will never forget.
What does this have to do with the Father heart of God? God told Israel that He had set before them life and death/blessing and cursing. He encouraged them to choose life. What we know of the history of Israel is that they did not always partner with life. They made a lot of poor choices. However, God never took His love off of His people. He made sure that they would continue to have the opportunity to partner with His life giving Spirit. In the end, He sent His Son into the world to carry the weight and punishment of sin for them. They would be forgiven because of the sacrifice of His Son. Not only them but the entire world would come under this one act of love. In this way, God doesn't need to punish sin anymore because sin carries its own punishment.
As I was thinking about this, I was reminded of a conversation from "The Shack": "I don't need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It's not my purpose to punish it; it's my joy to cure it." {p.120} God in His infinite grace and mercy has allowed us to live in such a relationship with Him that we are F-R-E-E. We are free to get it right. We are free to get it wrong. We are free to run away. We are free to return. God does not take His love off of us because we fail. In fact, I believe in those moments, God's heart hurts for us when we hurt. He has experienced the weight of our poor choices and he hates seeing that weight come upon us. And when we return to Him, He doesn't gloat, He joyfully walks beside us so that we can partner together in things that bring life.
The greatest example of this is found in Luke 15:11-32 - the story typically termed the "Prodigal Son." In this story we find a Father who was willing to allow his children to make choices. Even though these choices had serious consequences, he never took his love off of them. He rejoiced to see the "lost" son return home. He made sure that his son was well aware of his love. When he had to deal with the envy and jealousy of the son who stayed home it became a moment to remind him of his love as well.
My prayer for you today is that you come into an experience of the Father heart of God. I pray that you will find His love, His joy, His contentment, and His peace in your life. And in the process, remember that His love is greater than any love you have experienced.
No comments:
Post a Comment