Trouble

Every day I hear a new story of something my daughter did wrong at school.  She’s not a mean kid, but she is bossy, and if she doesn’t get her way, look out!  As her parents, we are trying to be consistent in our disciple, but she is running out of toys for us to take away (and she has pretty substantial selection of toys, so that shows just how much trouble she’s been getting in).

And yet, even though she is disrespectful and disobedient (at school and at home) I still love her.  That is crazy!  Who would love someone who acts and talks like she does?  She has done too many things wrong to earn my love and she’s not even three and a half, so her future is obviously hopeless and my love for her is obviously irrational.

(Pause for effect)

The above paragraph is obviously ridiculous; no good parent would talk like that about their child.  And yet that’s the way we often think that God talks about us.  We get this feeling like our sin makes us completely unlovable and that we’ve done too much for God to ever forgive us of.  When we have kids we begin to see what unconditional love really looks like, and yet we are blown away that God might have that same kind of love for us.  I’ve learned so much about God in the way I interact with my own daughter, and I’m beginning to see that even though my disobedience may change the blessings that God has or the consequences I face, it never changes His love for me.