Even When You're Mad at Me
Being a parent has helped me understand God's character. Or at least given me a context in which to place my bits and pieces of understanding. Will I ever truly understand Him? Not in this world, and I wouldn't want to. The very fact that He is more magnificent than my mind can comprehend is what makes Him worthy of all honor and praise! I do have an idea, though, of how grace and forgiveness work. They aren't a free pass to do whatever we want. God's all-powerful nature and sense of justice could not allow that. On the other hand, His all-loving nature could not allow us to continue to pay for our own sins.
Here's the window through which I glimpsed grace and forgiveness in action. Admittedly, it is on a tiny, human scale rather than a God-sized universal scale. But I hope it draws a faint parallel. My youngest daughter, Pie, is one of the most sensitive souls I have ever met. She cries with true remorse when corrected. The biggest challenge her dad and I have in raising Pie is how to guide her without breaking her tender little heart. Several times over the last few weeks Pie's husky little voice has uttered this profound statement: "Mama, even when you're mad at me, you still love me."
I'm so glad she gets that. I love her AND I sometimes get mad at her. In my case, it's often because of my own failings or impatience. But sometimes it's because I know she's behaving in a way that is not best for her. As God's child, I know He gets mad at me, too, because He can see that what I'm doing isn't in my best interest or the in the interest of His Kingdom. And yet He loves me even when He's mad at me. His grace is not a license to sin. Yet His correction is not condemnation. If I can love my little one even when I'm mad at her, how much more must He love me! His love is constant. Praise be!
Here's the window through which I glimpsed grace and forgiveness in action. Admittedly, it is on a tiny, human scale rather than a God-sized universal scale. But I hope it draws a faint parallel. My youngest daughter, Pie, is one of the most sensitive souls I have ever met. She cries with true remorse when corrected. The biggest challenge her dad and I have in raising Pie is how to guide her without breaking her tender little heart. Several times over the last few weeks Pie's husky little voice has uttered this profound statement: "Mama, even when you're mad at me, you still love me."
I'm so glad she gets that. I love her AND I sometimes get mad at her. In my case, it's often because of my own failings or impatience. But sometimes it's because I know she's behaving in a way that is not best for her. As God's child, I know He gets mad at me, too, because He can see that what I'm doing isn't in my best interest or the in the interest of His Kingdom. And yet He loves me even when He's mad at me. His grace is not a license to sin. Yet His correction is not condemnation. If I can love my little one even when I'm mad at her, how much more must He love me! His love is constant. Praise be!