June 28 ~ Hebrews 12:4-11
None of you have yet been hurt in your battle against sin. But you have forgotten that the Scriptures say to God’s children,
“When the Lord punishes you, don’t make light of it, and when he corrects you, don’t be discouraged. The Lord corrects the people he loves and disciplines those he calls his own.”
Be patient when you are being corrected! This is how God treats his children. Don’t all parents correct their children? God corrects all of his children, and if he doesn’t correct you, then you don’t really belong to him. Our earthly fathers correct us, and we still respect them. Isn’t it even better to be given true life by letting our spiritual Father correct us?
Our human fathers correct us for a short time, and they do it as they think best. But God corrects us for our own good, because he wants us to be holy, as he is. It is never fun to be corrected. In fact, at the time it is always painful. But if we learn to obey by being corrected, we will do right and live at peace.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
As I tucked Timothy into bed one recent night, he said, “Tell me a story.” So I told him the story of “The Three Little Bears.” Then he said, “Tell me another story. I asked, “What story would you like to hear?” He replied… “Tell me the story of how we have to listen to GOD… and how those people ate the fruit of the tree and got into trouble.” So I gave him my best “four-year-old version” of the story of Adam and Eve and their sin in the Garden of Eden. When I finished, Timothy whispered dramatically… “God was SO disappointed.” I agreed and reminded him that yes, God is disappointed when we don’t listen to Him… that we must obey Him and do what He says.
I also pointed out that God wants us to listen to our parents, our aunts and uncles… and to be nice to our brothers, sisters, and friends. Timothy said, “We don’t want to disappoint God!” I agreed again. Then I asked him, “Did you know you can talk to God? We call it praying… we say our prayers and talk to God – and He talks to us!” We discussed some prayer books I have bought him in the past… Timothy calls them his “God books”… and how our prayers are the time we thank God for everything He has given us – and we ask Him to help us be good listeners. I offered… “Would you like for me to talk to God for you now?” Timothy nodded yes.
So I prayed a simple prayer. I thanked God for Timothy…his sister Zola, who was sleeping in another bed nearby…his brother Nathan…his mom and dad… and all of the people who love him. I thanked God for giving us grass and trees and fruit and everything we have… and I asked Him to help us – especially Timothy – be good listeners. When I finished, Timothy said, “I don’t want to disappoint God!” I told him that God is not disappointed with him… that God loves him. “And as long as you listen to God and do what He says,” I continued, “God will be very happy.” I also told him that sometimes we all fail to listen to God… and when that happens, we should tell God we are sorry.
Timothy asked, “Would you say that talk to God again?” I clarified, “You want me to talk to God again for you?” He replied, “Yes… tell Him I’m sorry when I disappoint Him.” Trying to hold it together, I prayed once again and thanked God for all of His good gifts… and I told Him that Timothy really wants to listen, but sometimes he forgets… and he is sorry.” Then I reminded Timothy how very much God loves him. “God is not disappointed with you,” I assured him as we snuggled. You make Him very happy… and as long as you do your best to listen to Him and are really sorry when you forget, He will not be disappointed. God will ALWAYS love you.
This amazing little four-year-old boy looked up at me, grinned, and said, “Okay… GOOD NIGHT!” And he rolled over and drifted off to sleep. If you knew our “history,” you would know that this is a child who didn’t go to sleep many nights of his first three years without a major battle… and then he was plagued with “night terrors” – almost nightly disruptions in his sleep that left him screaming for sometimes as much as an hour before he could settle back into a restful pattern. To see him drift off to sleep with such peace gives me a relief I cannot verbalize. To know that he went to sleep with peace in his heart about his relationship to God – and such a depth of wisdom and understanding – gives me a joy beyond description.
It seems like the older we get, the more we lose our “child-like wonder and understanding” of God’s love for us and what He requires in return… and we also lose much of our peace. While the “hows and whys” of our relationship and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins are incredibly complicated…the basic tenets are fairly simple. Listen to God…deeply desire to please Him…accept that there will be times when we fall short… be ready to apologize and ask for forgiveness… and above all, remember that God loves us and calls us His own.
I encourage you to take some time to meditate on these principles…to talk with God and discover where you have overcomplicated and cluttered your relationship with things that truly are not of significance – or benefit. Have you created much of your own inner turmoil and anxiety by making your Christian faith far more difficult and complex than God ever intended? Isn’t it time you came back to the purity and simplicity of a four-year-old who doesn’t want to disappoint God? Will this be the night you sleep in peace and assurance that God loves you and has forgiven you for “not listening?” Isn’t it your turn to have a bedtime talk with God?
©2013 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment