This may come as a surprise to you, but my daughters don't always act the way they're expected to. Interestingly enough, the students I serve don't always demonstrate a willingness to abide by basic rules either. Yes, none of us our perfect. We all make mistakes. And, when my daughters and my students make mistakes, I'm charged with disciplining them. It's challenging. I don't really enjoy it.
My love for them is no less present when I'm giving them what they have chosen to receive, when I'm giving them what they deserve. It's not about making them miserable. It's not about eliminating the possibility to learn from their mistakes. Rather, it's about connecting them with reality and opening a door for better choices. Ultimately, they must make the choice on their own, and with the proper guidance, they will hopefully make the right choice. At least, more often. I hope.
God's love for us, as well as His justice demanded through perfection, meet perfectly in one place: The Cross. Our inability to meet His standard requires punishment. That punishment is death. Thankfully, I don't have to try to meet His standard. Neither do my daughters. Neither do my students. Thankfully, because we cannot possibly meet it. No matter what we do. Never. Ever.
God's perfect solution was to send His one and only Son to live with us and die for us. He paid our debt in full. We no longer have to meet it. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't make me want to do whatever I want; rather, it makes me want to live for Him. It makes me want to get closer to Him and His standard. Not because I have to, but because I want to.
Because, there is no greater love than His.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
No comments:
Post a Comment