The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger,
abounding in love…He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us
according to our iniquities. For as high
as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him;
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
103:8, 10-13
I have been
a parent now for over seven years. In
that time, my husband and I have chosen to discipline our child with different
forms of such depending on the offense.
A week or so ago we were faced with a new challenge in discipline that
was not a fun episode. Our seven year
old told a lie. It was blatantly obvious
to us, but to him not so much. It so
happened that my husband has the not-so-good pleasure of being the
disciplinarian on this particular evening.
As I sat in our kitchen, this is what I heard. “Son, you have lied to me
and your Mother. We don’t lie to you, so
we expect that you don’t lie to us either.
I don’t believe that you have ever lied to us before, so I am going to
give you a pass this time, but next time you will get a spanking. Do you understand?” Our son was sobbing like I had never heard
him do before. As I listened to the event
unfold, the Holy Spirit gave me a clear picture of His mercy and grace that He
freely gives us, His children. If only
we were as frightened and fragile from our behavior as our son was that night. After all, forgiveness was all he needed…and
it’s all we need from our heavenly Father.
Lord, help me to weep over my sins as my son did, and to
weep often. I am so thankful for the
mercy and compassion that you show to me without end. I am thankful that you allowed me the
opportunity to witness an example of Your forgiveness through my husband and my
son.
Amen
