I remember one night I was praying over my younger son, who was asleep on his bed. As I prayed for him, the thought suddenly entered my mind that this precious little boy, whose heart is so pure, would one day grow up and become a man. At the time, this little guy was pretty much incapable of doing anything we would consider to be a major wrong, but I knew it wouldn’t always be that way.
It is a fundamental fact that, in this life, you reap what you sow. That is just as true for innocent little six-year-old boys and girls as it is for grown men and women. All the way through life, the decisions we make determine the course of our lives.
Sometimes we think we can avoid the law of consequences, but we can’t. Our decisions and actions will always come home to roost, for good or ill. And as I prayed for my son, the reality and implications of this for his life suddenly became very real to me. In his life, he will have to make many choices—and it is possible that some of his choices will not please me. In fact, it is possible—probably likely—that he could make choices that will be personally devastating to me. It is also possible that some of his decisions could have life-changing consequences for him—both good and bad. And yet, I will still be his father, and he will still be my son. No matter what he does for the rest of his life—whether he makes good decisions or not—there is no changing that. He will always be my boy.
If I can feel that unalterable commitment to my son, just imagine what God feels for you! What kind of difference would it make in your life if you knew, absolutely, that no matter what you do or how badly you mess up, God is always going to be there, wanting more than anything to take you back into His love?
I think a lot of folks are paralyzed by a false picture of God. They have the image of a stern old man who is just waiting for them to screw up so He can chew them out and tell them everything they’ve done wrong. Once again, I think about my own children. When they mess up, most of the time they know it. They are usually very well aware that what they have done or said is not pleasing to their mom or to me. In that situation, their instinct is to avoid us.
You probably remember the same thing in your own life. When you stayed out past your curfew, did you walk into the house and march into your parents’ bedroom to be sure they knew you came in late? No, you avoided that conversation as long as you could! Or when roughhousing in the living room led to a broken crystal vase, were you eager for your mom to get home so she could see her shattered finery? Probably not.
But just as surely as your parents still loved you when you stayed out late or broke their stuff, God still loves you when you mess up. Don’t avoid Him! He already knows what you’ve done—heck, He knew the second you even started to think about doing whatever it was you did. You can’t hide from God— and there’s no need to! More than anything else, He wants you to come back to Him, say you’re sorry, and let Him help you do better next time.
Don’t avoid the conversation with God. Take a walk with Him. He’s always ready to spend time with you.
-Pete
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