Today was a different sort of Sunday. Tornado warning sirens kept me from jumping in the shower and then a fresh wave of rain dumped on me when I finally did manage to get ready and brave the elements to get to church. Once there, we had a shortened service due to the incoming storm. Simply worship and communion - but that was enough for God to speak something to my heart.
As we worshipped, I got this mental image of Jesus standing there and me running to Him - knowing I had done wrong but wanting nothing more than to bury my face in His robes and feel him wrap His arms around me in a loving embrace. I was overwhelmed with the desire to confess to Him all that I had done wrong, knowing it was against Him that I had sinned...and yet He still forgives. My desire to be close to Him was so much greater than my guilt and fear - I wanted nothing to stand in my way of being with Him.
I got to thinking about how much I want to discipline and correct my children the same way Christ disciplines me. It is natural to want to run and hide from authority when we know we have done wrong. You only have to look at Adam and Eve to find an example of this, yet running away and hiding is exactly what we do NOT need to do. When we run TO Christ, we find forgiveness and a new start....AGAIN! I emphasize "again" because I find I have to do this over and over. ( I wonder what would have happened if instead of playing the blame game, Adam and Eve would have run to their Father God for forgiveness?)
I want to not only remember to run to Christ, I want to learn to walk in forgiveness LIKE Christ. Even if the person who has wronged me doesn't ask or receive the forgiveness, it is there...waiting for them. Change me, Lord, to be more like You.
I also want to instill in my children this picture of forgiveness. I want to help them realize that when they run to me, they can FEEL the release. I want them to crave that more than they fear the consequences of their actions. Knowing that I am just the parent God has placed here on earth, I want them to run not just to me, but to Christ. There they will find complete forgiveness and freedom.
For my children and myself, I want to remember that when I run to Him, He can calm the storm that rages inside of me. I do not need to cower or be afraid - He is waiting with open arms to welcome me and heal the damage I have done.
Not bad for a short service.
Genesis 3:8 - 13 (Message translation)
"When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.
9 God called to the Man: "Where are you?"
10 He said, "I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid."
11 God said, "Who told you you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I told you not to eat from?"
12 The Man said, "The Woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree, and, yes, I ate it."
God said to the Woman, "What is this that you've done?"
13 "The serpent seduced me," she said, "and I ate."
Psalm 37:39-40
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
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