The Irony

My children, as with most children, love to climb onto the furniture to look out of the window. No matter how many times I caution them that it's dangerous. They turn a deaf ear to my warnings. Instead, they'll tell me triumphantly, "See, I didn't fall!"

So the day came when they did eventually hurt themselves as a result of their misadventure. They ran to me in tears and expected me to tend their wounds and soothe their hearts. While applying medication to the bruises and drying their tears, I tried to explain to them that what happened was because of their insistent disobedience to my instruction. Fully expecting them to be contrite, I was taken aback by my daughter's audacity when she retorted, "But I'm a good girl!" and accused me of not being there to catch them when they fell.

In the book of Jeremiah, Judah was similarly blind to her own sinfulness. God had time and time again rebuked the people of Judah for their idolatry and faithlessness but they failed to listen and grew from bad to worse. But during times of trouble, when their idols did not save them, they cried out to God and accused Him of abandoning them when in the first place, they were the ones who willfully rebelled against Him.

This brings me to my own walk with the Lord. Do I insist on being self-sufficient instead of being dependent upon God only to have the cheek to blame God for not helping me during my times of need? Have I been deceiving myself into thinking that I'm doing okay as a child of God when I've been slowly straying from Him? If I feel such injustice and grief at my children's rebellious response, how different am I from them in making my Father in heaven feel the same way?

That's a lot of food for thought so I guess I'll take my time to chew on that. In the meantime, I shall endeavor to respond to my errant children the same way God did to Judah: with long-suffering love and patient correction.

Jeremiah 2:26-30

As a thief is disgraced when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced— they, their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets. They say to wood, ‘You are my father,’ and to stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’ Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah. “Why do you bring charges against me? You have all rebelled against me,” declares the LORD. “In vain I punished your people; they did not respond to correction. Your sword has devoured your prophets like a ravening lion."

Jeremiah 2:35

... you say, ‘I am innocent; he is not angry with me.’ But I will pass judgment on you because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’