Please, Believe My Love!
“’Come now, let us reason together,’ says the LORD.
‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson, they shall be as wool.
If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the best from the land;
but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.’
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Isaiah 18-20).
Parable (Part 2 of 4) Continues:
“Yes, I’ll come get you.” LuAnn picked up her car keys. Will it go any better this time? Only God knows. I can only hope and pray. Please Lord, give me wisdom in dealing with her.
The car’s headlights picked up a bedraggled figure huddled beside the phone booth outside the empty Post Office. How scraggly her hair looks…dirty, torn jeans. How can she be so dirty? and thin…. Stephanie stood up as LuAnn parked. “Stephanie, what happened?”
“Nuthin'” she mumbled. LuAnn tried to hug her, but it was like hugging a board. LuAnn couldn’t help but think of Isaiah 42:22, “Robbed & plundered, trapped in holes...”
After a warm bath and a meal, Stephanie seemed more relaxed, but sullen. She wouldn’t say much to her mother about the past three years. LuAnn sensed it must be painful to think about it. “Why don’t you go to bed,” she said, gently. “We’ll talk more in the morning.”
Next morning, LuAnn tried friendly conversation, but Stephanie seemed unreachable, as if her real self were locked up in a secret place. LuAnn sighed. Father, where’s the little girl I used to read to and sing to, play with, laugh and talk with? What happened to her?
In a gentle but firm tone, she reminded Stephanie of the house rules. “As long as you stay here, I expect you to do your share of the housework. No alcohol, pornography, drugs, or smoking is allowed in the house. No boyfriends in your bedroom. I’d also like to be kept informed of your whereabouts.”
A flicker of resentment flashed in Stephanie’s eyes, then she looked down and nodded.
Your eyes seem haunted. What are you afraid of, my daughter? Don’t you know how much I love you? Why would I keep taking you back if I didn’t love you? Believe it, please.
As the days went by, it gratified LuAnn to see Stephanie keep her room neat, help with meals, dishes, vacuuming and dusting. She saw no disobedience. Yet, she felt a barrier between them. It was as if her daughter were a robot, doing what she had to do, yet with no heart.
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How would you feel if your runaway came home without repentance, angry and rebellious although doing what you asked him or her to do? … if you suspected she only pretended to agree with your values, and obeyed because of compulsion, not because she wanted to?
Isaiah 1:11-17 indicates the Israelites were doing the things God had commanded them to do, but God didn’t appreciate it because their hearts weren’t repentant. They were not cleansed of sin. He pleads with them in Isaiah 1:18-20 to come to him and be forgiven.
God wants our hearts. He wants steadfast love and relationship with him rather than empty actions. God wants us to know him, acknowledge his ownership and provision, understand he loves us, and trust him.
During the time when I was angry at God for not answering my prayers the way I thought he should, I thought I knew him. I still went to church, read the Bible and prayed. However, if I really knew him, would I have thought he’d abandoned me?
To know our Creator and Lord is to trust him so much we are in harmony with him. It is to be totally yielded to his will, knowing whatever he does is what is best for us.To call Jesus Christ our “LORD” means to recognize his right to rule over us. He is our boss in a sense, the one who has the right to tell us what to do. He earned this right first of all by creating us, secondly by providing for our rescue from sin’s captivity.
In this parable, did Stephanie trust her mom’s love? If she did, wouldn’t she have talked with her about her problems? God want us to trust in his love, to obey him because we love him and trust that what he asks us to do is what is best.
Prayer:
LORD, help us learn to know you better, acknowledge your
ownership and provision, trust you and understand you love us.
Amen.
To be continued:
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