There
are moments I believe, that are reserved only for those who get to raise
daughters. My five year old daughter gives me this privilege.
The
other day I came from work all tired and agitated. As I came round a corner that
leads to the house my little girl spotted me some distance away. She gave me a mischievous
look and then turned her back to me as only a woman can.
Without
uttering a single word she paused like someone preparing for a grand performance.
Then she gingerly lifted one leg off the ground and with her other foot planted
firmly on the ground, she twirled this way and that way, all the while waving
her little hands in the air. Her eyes still carried that mischievous glint and every
so often she looked my way to make sure that I was watching. It took me a while
to figure out what she was doing.
It
was a ballet dance. I was the audience. And yes, it was the beautiful thing ever!J
The
following day did not turn out so well. As we left a friend’s house my daughter threw a mighty tantrum because I wouldn’t
let her watch T.V. The house rules are that tantrums attract ‘spanking-level’
punishment. As soon as we were out of range, I reminded her of our little
altercation and told her that as when we got home, she was to go straight to her room and wait for me there.
At home we talked about the transgression and
after agreeing on the severity of the crime, she got her punishment. She cried
for the whole neighbourhood to hear. I gave her a minute to calm down and then
stretched out my hands to her. She quickly ran to me as we consoled together
(Yap, its hard administering discipline to your own daughter). With her ensconced in my arms, we talked about
the transgression once more and she vowed never to do it again.
Then
like a light-bulb which had just been switched on, she launched into lengthy
account of the day’s events. I listened and asked questions here and there. By the
time we got downstairs there was no indication that a few moments before, I had
just administered a painful punishment.
Such
moments always remind me of the psalmist’s words:
As
far as the east is from the west, so
far
has he removed our transgressions
from
us. As a father has compassion on his
children,
so the Lord has compassion on
those
who fear him.. Psalm 103:12-13
Now
I know some of you do not feel me but ‘isorait’,
I will still go on to the object lesson:
1.
God
doesn’t keep grudges.
This is the mystery of forgiveness. When we
confess our sins, we are simply agreeing with him that what we have done is
wrong. When we do this He ‘accepts and
moves’ on-if you get my drift that is. 1 John 1:9
Like my daughter who quickly moves on to other
things after gaining the assurance of forgiveness, we too need to learn to accept and move on.
2.
At
times He determines that even though he has forgiven us, our transgression requires some form of chastisement-Heb.12:5-6.
The disciplinary action he takes against us is not to
quench his anger but rather to straighten us out for the future. On this score I
believe that God and I are on the same page; I discipline my daughter with the
hope that she can catch the lesson so that in future, she will respond much
better under similar circumstances.
3.
Lastly,
and perhaps most importantly, when God punishes us he anticipates that the
moment of pain will draw us even closer to him-Heb.12:10-11
We ought to respond to God’s discipline in a way that mirrors
my daughter’s reaction. She ran to me for comfort once she received a re-affirmation
of my love. You can imagine my consternation had she spurned my gesture of
acceptance.
God
too, keeps his arms outstretched in our moments of pain. I think he gets
puzzled when a son or daughter of his turns and runs away into the arms of the sinful
world during times of trial.
So
then;
Q:
How far has God removed our transgressions from us?
A:
As far as the east is from the west…
Q:
How is God’s attitude toward us when we fail?
A:
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those
who fear him
Love
him.
Fear
him.
Run
to him!
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