Five-year-old Kathy smiled as she opened the front door to her house. She had just spent the afternoon playing jump rope with her friend, Jimmy, and now she was started to get hungry. As soon as she walked through the kitchen, she could smell something sugary from the oven. Daddy stood in front of the counter with a spatula, moving cookies from the pan into the cookie jar.
“Can I have one?” Kathy asked, looking up at Daddy.
“After dinner, okay?” He closed the jar.
“Okay,” she said. “Can I color?”
Daddy grabbed her coloring book and crayons, and laid them out on the table. As Kathy sat down to color, Daddy went in the other room to watch TV. Kathy colored a drawing of Cinderella, feeling her stomach growl. She picked up a blue crayon and tried to ignore her stomach. She tried. She really did. But as her stomach growled again and the cookie smell wafted through the air, Kathy tip-toed slowly towards the cookie jar. Maybe if she just took one Daddy wouldn’t notice.
The cookie jar sat on top of the counter, a far reach for a five-year-old, but Kathy stood on her tippy toes desperate for a taste. As her fingers touched the cold jar, Kathy then started to pull it forward, the weight seemingly heavier than she thought, and lifted it from the counter. But the jar slipped, falling from her hands and smashed onto the floor. Broken glass and cookies surrounded her feet, cutting her, and her bottom lip start to tremble. She could hear footsteps, someone yelling, and as Daddy reached the kitchen doorframe, Kathy burst into tears. She had just wanted one cookie. Just one. But now Daddy would be so mad, maybe even spank her for being bad. There were tiny cuts on her legs, but Kathy was crying too hard to notice.
Daddy looked at Kathy and ran towards her, sweeping her up from the ground, and held her in his arms.
“It’s okay,” he said, taking her out of the kitchen. “Are you okay?”
Kathy cried harder, holding onto Daddy, wishing she hadn’t disobeyed. Daddy carried her to the bathroom and began to clean up her cuts. After he had put Barney and Dora Band-Aids all over Kathy’s legs, he wiped her tears.
“How about we go read ‘Toad and Frog’?” he asked, kissing her forehead.
Kathy sniffled and nodded. Daddy smiled, took his daughter’s hand, and helped her towards the door.
Take a moment to reflect on the story. Then watch the clip below ( focus on 1:05 to the end).
How many times have we been a Kathy in our Christian lives? We have these guidelines God gives us, Commandments that we’re supposed to follow, yet do we? I think so many times we view the Commandments as these restrictive rules set out to ruin our fun. But think back to Kathy and her father. When her father told her not to eat the cookies, was he telling her this to restrict her? No, he did this so she wouldn’t ruin her appetite and would eat healthy. He wanted what was best for his child.
Commandments are set to protect us. God knows what is best for us and wants us to live enriched lives. He wants what’s best for his child, you.
When Kathy realized that she disobeyed, she felt shame and feared punishment. However instead of Kathy’s father getting angry, he embraced his hurt child. He was more concerned with his daughter’s safety than the fact that she disobeyed him.
Read Luke 15: 11-32 and focus on the relationship between the younger son and the father.
Christ knew that we would disobey Him time and time again before He was on the cross, yet He still did it. Every time we sin, God still welcomes us back into His arms because He loves us. The younger son in verse 21 said, “I am no longer worthy to be called your son,” but his father tells his servants to clothe his son and to have a feast in his honor. The father was rejoicing because his son had come back to him and that meant more to him than the wrongs his son had done.
Reflect on a time when you felt unworthy of God’s love.
Commandments are God’s guidelines to keeping us safe, but also to show His love. When we disobey these commandments, God still loves us and wants to sweep us up in His arms. The God of the universe wants to protect you from the world and from yourself, but will you allow Him? We need to start following Commandments not because it’s what we ‘should’ do, but rather because we love God and because we trust that God knows what’s best for us.
Read Psalms 119: 33-56. Please end in prayer. Think of what behaviors in your life that you are ashamed of and ask God to give you strength to overcome those temptations.
Dear God, Time and time again I have fallen short of obeying Your commands. Allow me to see these commands in a new way . I want to know You for all You are. Help me deepen my love for You and open my heart to all You have in store for my life. Thank you for loving me when I am unlovable. Thank you for forgiving me when I don’t deserve forgiveness. In Your Name, Amen.
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