Her mother gently urged her to get her teeth brushed. This was met with silence, prompting a firmer tone. "NO!", came the reply. My eyes widened. The showdown had begun.
I'm sure I don't have to tell you who won... But just in case, it was NOT the three-year-old. There were lots of tears, a spanking, claims of being unable to walk (can you say drama queen?), and eventually came the quiet of sleeping children.
Aren't you glad we are past all that now that we're grown and mature? I mean, we would never be willful and insist on our own way, right? Ahem, RIGHT?
Liar, liar, pants on fire.
It hit me with a sinking feeling tonight. When I choose to do something that I know is not my Father's will for me, I am only a slightly more refined version of my niece.
I mean, I didn't stamp my foot and scream NO! Or run and hide in my bedroom. Mostly because I'm theologically savvy enough to know I can't hide anything from God and also that He is infinitely more powerful than me. But that sort of makes things worse.
But grace covers it, right? When Jesus died on the cross, He shed His blood knowing what all sin I would commit, right?
As a born-again believer, grace DOES cover my sin, and there is no longer any condemnation for it. But it mars the moment. Rather than peace with my Father, there are willful tantrums, and sometimes spiritual spankings.
My Father knows what's best for me. He's invested His Son's blood in securing me. You'd better believe He's going to see me through to the end.
It's the age-old story. Like in the days of the Judges, each of us prefers to do what we see as right, in our own eyes. And Satan keeps telling the same lie... That you can't trust God or that His ways are best.
Ps. 32:9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.
Teach me Your ways O Lord. Make me know Your precepts. Then I will walk in paths of righteousness and know Your peace.
