Sunday, March 8, 2009

A churchy analogy

Say you have a sick child. This poor thing is just miserable and no matter what you do, you can't make them feel any better because they just push you away.

Then this poor child throws up. Doesn't make it to the bathroom and just plasters himself (or herself) head to toe. The child cries, hopeless and even more miserable than before.

What do you do then? As a parent, do you push him away? Do you send him to his room because he made a mess and needs to learn his lesson?

Any loving parent would take that child in their arms. Comfort him. Hold him close and tell him it's going to be okay. Stroke his hair away from his face while he cries.

And no real parent would love his child any less.

It is in times of extreme mess that Heavenly Father wants most to comfort us. He wants us to know it will be okay. He still loves us, no matter how yucky we might think we are. No matter how much sin, no matter how much revulsion we have for ourselves, He loves us and wants us to feel better.

Repentance is just cleaning up the mess. It may smell bad, but it's always better to get rid of it completely than to just live with the mess. And He won't mind helping - if we'll let Him.

2 comments:

Darla Pierre said...

Thanks for that Heath... I really needed that! Which child threw up on you? I have been getting creamed this week too! (Bry is getting over RSV)

Dirtius Wifius said...

Felix throws up on me quite regularly, to be honest. But this time, the analogy came from someone else who had a similar experience. :)

Instead, we're all sick with bad colds. blech!