Family Business

Take a moment and picture this.

There is a daughter who comes home late. There is her father sitting in the living room waiting for her. They have had the discussions and the conversations a million times about curfew and all of the rules of the house.  The father is frustrated because he knows that out there in the dark there are things that will harm his baby girl.
The girl is grounded by her father breaking what he had set in place in order to protect her.  She look at the rules as stupid and arbitrary. She thinks that her father is trying to impede upon her he freedom and liberty to do what she wants. Her father wants his daughter to stay alive, and be healthy and wise. She gets angry and talks about how unjust it is. How she should be allowed to do what ever it is that she wants. Dad is so unfair. Now she is grounded for two weeks.


Is the father really unfair in asking his kid to listen and follow his instructions?Is it really love and looking out for her well being if he decided to say " you know what, lets have no rules or order at all"? I don't think that would be love. I don't think that would be in the kids best interest.
He just wants her to be alive and safe because he loves and cares for her. Who wouldn't  want that for their child.


Lets say that daughter comes back a little late on that same curfew and sees her dad there and says " dad, I know I broke the rules, I am sorry I feel awful about it. Say the dad says,"Yes you've violated my rules, but I am going to cut you some slack. I am going to forgive you and maybe not ground you this time, but please don't let it happen again"



This parallel is us, and God.

God gave us the house rules.  He gave us his commands. HE has given them because he knows that the darkness is death and his path is the path of righteousness and liberty. Anyone who has walked the line of faith for a period of time knows that sin is only pleasurable for a season. After that, it is an anchor to the soul that feels like such a burden.

We, the people of faith, are that rebellious daughter that looks at the words set up by authority and instead of seeing it as a blessing... we make our excuses talking about how those rules impose on our freedom, when in reality they are freedom.
I'm talking about the Law of God.  We look at it as this huge impossible burden to us that is a hindrance to the thought that we should be able to do whatever feels good or what ever WE think is right.

We are called to know and follow what he has set in place. God didn't remove the rules because their was something wrong with them. He didn't change the plan all of the sudden because what he had said was to difficult. He say listed and obey to what I have set before you and you will live.

We whine like its too hard, like a teenager complaining to their parents.  God's word says his commandments are not too hard. Jesus says they are not burdensome. Where is our hang up?
What parent doesn't want what is best for their child?

God tells us in his word specific things about how to dress, like a father who wouldn't let his daughter leave the house like wearing a specific outfit. God tells us what is food and what is not, like a parent tells their child what is healthy and what is not. God tells us how to love and respect him, like a loving parent would. God's commands tell us how we are to treat one another, like a parent teaches their kid to share and to help people in need thus developing character. We are a reflection of Him, and are called to abide in our fathers house.

Again, it comes right back to the heart.

IS out heart totally about how unfair dad is and how we don't want to do what he says because I'm me and I'm a grown up and I know better and HE should treat ME a certain way, because I know what is good and what is not and who does he think HE is....

OR is our heart different. A heart that says My father knows what is best. My father knows what is good for me and what is not. My father has my best interest in mind. My father has a plan for me. I want to grow up and be like him. I want to follow in his footsteps. I hope that I can be a good example to the family name, and when people look at me they might say something like

"You're just like your dad" .


What a humble blessing that would be in this context.