But I Still Love Her Anyway
by Steve Ridgell on Jul.19, 2010, under Hope
She was about seven years old, in the group of Vacation Bible School kids listening to me tell the story of Joseph. Joseph was spoiled and clearly the favorite son. It made his brothers so mad that they wanted to kill him. So I asked if anyone in the class ever fought with their brothers and sisters. She held up her hand, then said that her sister was mean to her and never told her she loved her. The next words are the ones I will always remember: “…but I love her anyway because she’s still my sister.”
I wonder how long until she grows up and deals with reality. After all, we adults know better than that, don’t we? We know that people are mean, you can’t trust anyone, life’s not fair, you can’t be nice to everyone or they’ll take advantage of you. Pretty dogs sometimes bite, life’s hard, and then you die. Cynical. Unhappy. Selfish.
So when did we change? What happened to the pure, innocent hearts we had as children? Life happened. People hurt us. We made poor choices. We did things we should not have. We did not do things we should have. And sometimes we wish things could be like they were before we became so cynical. We wish we could be like the child we were: innocent, loving, pure.
Jesus said if we become like little children, we can enter the kingdom of heaven. He helps us do that. He came to make all things new, including us. He makes us pure – innocent again. He forgives the wrong choices. He teaches us to see people differently. He restores our soul. He gives us hope. He gives us life. He makes it possible to be born again.
So if you have ever wished your life could be different, if you have ever wished you could be different, if you ever wished you could be like a little child again… then Jesus is for you.
What do you think?
steve
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What do I think? You’ve written a beautiful illustration. I’ll pass it on. God Bless. Judy
I believe the point Jesus was trying to make is that children are trusting, perhaps too trusting at times, but trusting. He asks us to put our trust in Him and God. That “trust” is secure, will not fail, is not dangerous, and can totally be depended on.
Until we have that “no fear” kind of trust, we cannot serve Him the way we should. Abraham had that kind of trust when he was given the command to sacrifice his son and was prepared to do do. We need to have that “nothing held back” reaction to God’s leading in our lives. The rich young man had a “trust” issue, not willing to give up all and follow.
But can we be sure?