Ruh Roh!

The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
    slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
He will not constantly accuse us,
    nor remain angry forever.
He does not punish us for all our sins;
    he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
    is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

Psalm 103:8-11 

 

In case you haven't figured it out by now, the reason we have three names (first, MIDDLE, and last) is so we can determine, by the tone and inflection, how much trouble we are in.  When I was in elementary school, I had a bad habit of talking when I wasn't supposed to and I had to stand in the hall for 15 minutes for each infraction.  But that wasn't the worst part.  You see, my Mom was a substitute teacher at my elementary school.  So.....imagine how I felt when I was in the hall for talking and seeing my Mom turn the corner!  First, I got "the look" which melted the paint off of the wall behind me.  Second, came the discussion with my teacher (with me present to make apologies for misbehaving) about how I had disrupted the class.  Then came the uncomfortable ride home with Mom after school. Then, came the spanking for being disruptive.  Finally, when Dad got home.....came the "first I'm going to GET your attention, then we will DISCUSS the problem."  And each time I was addressed by my first, middle and last names.

 

Many of us have the misconception of God as some cranky curmudgeon who watches what we do and listens to what we say and is always ready to push the SMITE button to rain down punishment upon us.  But this is just not true.  God is not out to smite us.  God loves us.  

 

Does God discipline us? Absolutely! A good and loving Father does that.  Does God spend a lot of time thinking up ways to punish us? I seriously doubt it.  I do believe that every decision has consequences (good or bad) and God will allow us to reap the consequences of our decisions.  But when all is said and done, God's love for us NEVER fails and is so much deeper than we can ever imagine!  Today might be the day you start a conversation (talking and LISTENING) with God remembering that He really does love us!