But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
I watched the mother’s face as she hesitated. I couldn’t read her expression until her voice broke, her eyebrows furrowed, and she whimpered, “I can’t say it without crying.” The father took over in his stoic fashion and told me the story of their wayward child. The pain in the room was palpable. I listened but was really at a loss of words. I offered to pray for them.
I, myself, had just been grieving over the fact that my child had not called me on Christmas Day. I was so heartbroken, yet I knew my pain was nothing compared to this couple who were carefully choosing words to convey their agony.
God spoke to my heart. He said, “I love you, Jenny, because you are my child, but you have caused me grief many times with your actions. My love for you has never diminished, but now you understand, to some degree, the painfulness of parenting. When my children turn away from me, when they do not talk to me, even on Christmas, when they fight, fail to love or forgive, worry instead of trust, and choose an idol over me, it makes me sad.”
Wow! Yes, there is no one in this world that we love more than our children, and yes, the pain they cause is, at times, almost unbearable. We have all done the same thing to God. All of us have gone astray from God, and His grief for us was so monumental that He did something drastic; He became human and quite literally cried tears of blood for us.
He allowed the suffering to be inflicted on Himself as He took on the sins of the world. Our actions crushed him. Our transgressions pierced His heart. Maybe we should think twice before we stray from God and remember the great pain that it causes Him. He loves us more than we love our children. Each day we should ask God to help us to please Him in all that we say and do.
Through Christ, I claim His power to stay in His will. Amen
Comments
Post a Comment