Monday, August 24, 2020

The Road that Leads Home

 

Monday, August 24, 2020

Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you?  Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?  But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself.  For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.  He will judge everyone according to what they have done.  He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers.  But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness.  Romans 2:4-8

For some people, the word “home” is not a warm and fuzzy safe kind of word; it’s more like a red flag that brings painful images, memories of abuse.  It wasn’t supposed to be that way, but the truth is all too stark to ignore, and the scars won’t let you totally forget. 

My experience is just the opposite.  My parents were not wealthy; I guess you could say we were middle class, somewhere just above the poverty line.  At times we ate a LOT of potatoes because it was easier to feed a family of four that way.  One area of the Brownworth home where wealth flowed generously was in kindness.  For me, the road leading back home was always a welcome road, a place of good memories with a strong pull towards the open door.

When I think back on that I cannot, for the life of me, wrap my mind around why I rebelled against the faith that so graciously helped form that good home and childhood.  I did exactly what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Roman church…lived for myself, refusing to obey the truth.   

In my case this wasn’t illegal stuff, like being a bank robber or a serial killer.  Rather it was just leaving God out of my life, trying to build a little kingdom of my own.  It was my choices, my happiness, my way that mattered, not God.  I had no drive to be the next king, or president.  I just wanted to be left alone to do what I wanted to do.

What eventually turned me back to the road that leads home is also what Paul wrote, about how patiently God waits for us; it is a loving patience that doesn’t approve of willfulness, but graciously waits like the father of the prodigal son.

My goal, as a pastor, has always been to help the churches with which I’ve served create an atmosphere of gracious waiting.  What I’ve found out about that is you cannot be that unless you’re intentional about it.  It’s not easy to wait.  But, oh, how it’s worth it.  The Apostle Paul overflowed with joy and thanksgiving for the faithfulness of the people to which he’d ministered; their responding to his letters with responsible service to Christ filled Paul’s heart with grateful thanksgiving.

I think there are but two components to waiting as a loving parent:

·       Speaking Truth in Love

Paul never hesitated to tell the truth.  My parents were a study in this.  They were gracious, but never patronizing.  In the end, the road that leads back to a home worthy of wanting to go home, is never false; only truth is a worthy foundation.

·       Readiness to Welcome

Once the Apostle spoke truth, a hard truth, particularly, he was then willing to be a silent waiter – with open arms.  That waiting, hard as it is, is necessary, because, especially in my case, truth takes a while to weed-out what needs to go. 

Sometime back I bought some inferior grass and weed killer.  It made claims of being the best.  You could see some results in a few hours, but two weeks later the weeds were back.  Lesson learned!  When I paid the price of using the good stuff, it took a few days to see the results, but those weeds were evicted; they must’ve gone into witness protection, because nobody’s heard from them in a while.

Readiness to welcome back the one who travels the road home (to God) is like using the good stuff of truth and waiting.  You want results right away, but time is required, and God is faithful. 

So, don’t be in a hurry; instead, as you wait, be in prayer.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.  Have a blessed day!

VIDEO

Title image Pixabay.com ∞  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

For another post on activating your faith, see The God of Equal Opportunity and

                                      While You’re Waiting for God to Answer Series:  Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3 and Part 4 and Part 5

 

No comments:

Post a Comment