A Whack on the Thumb...again

"Ow! I cannot believe this! Ow! God, you got to be kidding! Again!"

I smacked my thumb on the top of a pallet fence as I was throwing a shovel full of goat manure over...and I had previously hit this thumb with a hammer, cracking the nail in half perpendicular to my thumb.

I keep hitting this thumb, and it hurts. I'm not one for yelling when in pain, but I'm starting to develop this bad habit with this thumb. The nail is broken half way down, so it's going to be a while before it grows out and is well protected again. Thinking about it now, I can't imagine how many times I'm going to hit it again, but in the moment, I never expect to hit it again.

I wonder if God feels the same way. 

Does He  think, "OK, I've lined everything up. I'm taking care of him. There is no way he's going to fall into sin now...OH MAN! OW! You got to be kidding me! Again! Ow! I can't believe how much this hurts! It's not supposed to be like this!"

I know Christ has taken away all of our sins for all time, and the Father can now look down on us with love as he sees a bunch of perfect children...but what about willful sins? What about the ones that we forcefully shove God out of our lives so we can do what we want right now? Isn't that unbelief? Isn't that throwing down the bright white cloak of Christ's righteousness and wallowing in the mud right in front of an ever-present God of justice? 

What does that feel like for God?

We get a little picture of what it feels like in the crucifixion of Jesus. How many of us would vomit at the sight of such a brutal torture? Sin hurts, sin kills.

But then we repeat the offense...again...again...again. I know the frustration that can occur when a spouse keeps offending in the same way over and over again. It doesn't take long for our human patience to run out. Can we even overlook one offense without blowing up, making a snide comment, or a sarcastic joke? 

God must be a glutton for punishment (please excuse the use of this coarse phraseology). Why does he stand there? - in sight of our offenses, in view of our cheating on him, right next to us while we spit on him, bend over while we scourge him, kneel while we strike him in the face, spread his arms while we pound nails through his hands, stand on a nail through his feet while we mock his power...his power that he willingly gives up...so that we can be part of his family, eat at his table, share in the inheritance, come back to life, be immortal, be free.

I guess thinking about it more, God wouldn't yell in outburst at our sins. The scriptures never mention Jesus yelling...except maybe when clearing the temple. Maybe there are two scenarios...

For his elected chosen children who are also weak fleshly creatures who find themselves astray and humbly crawl back to their Father just hoping for a slaves quarters - he patiently endures your offending, cheating, spitting, scourging, beating, killing - so that you may come to the realization of the truth and be saved.

For those hard hearted willfull sinners of pride who trade the righteousness of God for disgusting filthy rags of this physical world - God please never let me be this person, and may I never meet one. The wrath of God is reserved for these. May I see only pre-believers, not unbelievers. Please, send me to the lost, the confused, the mislead, and the broken, so I can be so privileged to see you find, correct, lead, and heal. 

Confirmation Blessing

This is the blessing I gave my daughter on the day she was confirmed in her faith. She's been studying Luther's catechism for three years (one with us and two with pastor). And her walk with God is only beginning. I was able to say the last part of my blessing in church, starting with her confirmation verse from Hebrews.

Well, here it is, confirmation day. Grace Michaiah Meinel, you are being confirmed in your faith. It's kinda like a wedding day. Not unlike a wedding day, where you are taking a commitment to be with God for the rest of your life. You've had a long engagement, as is typical now days, through your childhood. We've planned and made preparations for this confirmation day, but like a wedding day, it's soon over. And then the hard part begins. How do you stay committed for a lifetime? In marriage? In confirmation of your faith to our Lord? Fortunately God makes it easy for us. His answer is the same - "Me." He just encourages us to be in His word. And His word will guide you your entire life. Through ups and downs - most certainly downs. And your confirmation verse will be a special verse to you to guide you in specifically down times, but also to give you everlasting hope in up times. This Bible Verse, Hebrews 10:39 "But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved." May God give you strength to be bold in your faith. Most certainly it won't happen your entire life, but may he work through you and constantly in you to be the woman that He designed you to be. And I see it in you, everyday. Grace Michaiah, may the Lord bless you for the rest of your life. Amen.