“Don’t get close to the stove!” were my mother’s words. As soon as I heard my mother’s warning, I ran toward the stove and pressed my right arm against the hot oven glass door. Screaming out in agony, and unable to remove myself from the source of danger, I then understood why my mother had so vehemently “forbidden” me to go anywhere close to the stove. I was four years old, and curiosity had gotten the best of me.
Dropping everything, she ran to my rescue; carefully cleaned out my burn, and tenderly bandaged my wound. Still shaking, sweating, and with salty tears rolling down my cheeks; I waited for a well- deserved reprimand.
But the scolding never happened. Instead, she tended to me in silence; a look of concern and disappointment spread across her face.
And that hurt more than a thousand burns ever could.
Because in that moment I realized that I hadn’t just disobeyed her, I had failed to trust her.
More than a list of restrictions, the ten commandments are meant to be a safeguard. A safeguard from what you ask? A safeguard from the devastating consequences of sin.
Wouldn’t it had been easier to just trust my mother’s instruction and spare myself the pain? Of course, it would have.
When our Heavenly Father asks us to stay away from the stove, it is not because He wants to deprive us from anything good, but because He wants to spare us the pain.
True obedience is a matter of trust, and trust, a matter of love. You can “obey” without trusting, but you cannot trust without obeying. Love and obedience go hand in hand. It is as simple as that.
“If you love me, keep my commands”
Although it has somewhat faded through the years, still on my arm I carry a scar. On my skin I bear a constant reminder of the lesson in obedience I learned that day. Regardless of how much our Heavenly Father loves us, consequences will always be a byproduct of disobedience.
It is important to remember, however, that in spite of consequences; God is still there for you. A scar can’t and won’t alter the intensity of His love for you. A scar, will never make you any less precious in His sight.
Regardless of how many times you’ve let curiosity get the best of you, or just flat out rebelled against Him, He is still willing to carefully clean out your burn, and tenderly bandage your wound.
God loved you and me so much that He trusted us with the gift of free will. He could have created perfectly obedient robots, but a robot would have never been able to choose to obey Him out of love.
Will you choose to obey Him out of love today?
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