As I was baking some scones the other day –
not thinking about much, really – which is why I like to bake – the word “rebellion”
came to mind – then Adam and Eve – then children – then me. Consider Adam and
Eve. They knew the rules didn’t they? There was just one rule, really. “.. but
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat…” And it
was for their good that God made the rule.
But something happened didn’t it? They began to question God’s wisdom
and His motives for making the rule. The seed of rebellion began to take root.
“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field
which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said,
‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?’ And the woman said to the
serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of
the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat
it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’’ Then the serpent said to the woman,
‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes
will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the
woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes,
and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.” –
Genesis 3:1-6
So, there it is. The benevolent God said and mankind reasoned that
perhaps God was not benevolent. That His motive was not in their best interest,
but His. You know what happened after that.
It is called the fall of Man. Adam and Eve rebelled and were ejected
from the Garden – no longer walking with God. There were consequences to their
choices. Consequences that they, and we, had to live with. God did not prevent it.
But did have a plan. Not to pretend it didn’t happen – but to give mankind another
choice to choose life and restore a broken relationship. That restoration came at a great price –
Jesus on the Cross.
Then there are our children. Children are very trusting when they
are young. But then something happens. They enter adolescence. They begin to
question the wisdom of their parents and their motives. They no longer see the rules as safety but as
barriers. They want to know the reasoning for the rules – for the parents’
decisions. That the parents should justify themselves. Questioning parental
authority. Then comes the mistrust and their desire to make their own rules
which they deem better. Just like the Garden, they choose to go their own
way. The pain and trouble their parents
wanted them to avoid falls on them. Still they will not turn back to their
parents, but in wanting to prove they are right, they continue to make the same
decisions and suffer the consequences. There may even be separation – perhaps
they will no longer live in the “garden”, but will be on their own. I can remember my older sisters saying,
often, “I can wait to get out of this house.” I also remember asking one of my
children when they didn’t like a rule, “I suppose you think that I sit around
dreaming up ways I can deny your happiness and mess your life up?” At least it
seemed that is what they thought. They were determined to go left when I said
they needed to go right. Their rebellion did not cause me to stop loving
them. Just like God did not stop loving
us. And there was a way for reconciliation and restoration – but that would
require repentance. And that did not happen right away. But parents are much like
the father of the prodigal son looking for his son’s return.
“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a
great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his
neck and kissed him.” – Luke 15:20
What we are not told in the parable is that in order for the
father to see him, the father had to be looking. I imagine that the father
looked often in hopes that his son would return. Perhaps you are looking down
that road – hoping. Don’t lose heart - trust
that God will do a work in your child’s heart and they will remember the love
they have abandoned to go their own way.
And then I thought about me. I am no different from my children
nor from Adam. Rebellion is part of our old nature. We are born with a
rebellious spirit that begins to show itself even as a toddler, but does not
come to full bloom until a little later in life. I was reminded that ….
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” –
Romans 3:23
Because of our sin nature there are things in all of our lives, yours
and mine, that are regrettable and cannot be undone – perhaps to our shame and
great sorrow. But they can be forgiven. God will not necessarily undo the consequences
of those things – but God can restore relationships and set our feet on a new
course. It begins with a broken and contrite heart before God – then towards
others. Or what I say is that the pigs food has to look good before someone is
ready to yield their heart. “And he [the prodigal son] would gladly have filled
his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.” (Luke
15:18)
“For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You
do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A
broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.” – Psalm
51:16-17
I so wish I could reach back in time and undo some of the things
that I have done and even prevent some of the pain my children have experienced
because of their choices – not for my sake but for theirs. But that is not possible. But thank God – we
can be made new – we can find forgiveness – we may not forget but in
remembering we should rejoice that we are forgiven. I often quote John Newton and
I will again to close this.
“I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am
not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to
be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.” – John Newton
Let it be said for all of us as well.
Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it –
Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His
Glory Alone
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