My Father in Heaven is Perfect

When Tobin was nine years old, his mother was doing laundry at the laundry mat. He had taken a dime out of the ash tray in the car. This angered his mother so she called him a thief. Then she took out her cell phone and started calling up members of the family, telling each of them that Tobin was a thief. After several calls Tobin’s eyes began to fill with tears. He glanced nervously at the woman who was pulling her laundry out of a nearby washer and complained to his father. “Mom’s telling everyone that I am a thief.” 

The stranger’s heart was breaking for Tobin. She kept listening to the verbal tirade hoping it would stop. Eventually, the mother pointed to Tobin and called out to the stranger, “Have you met my son, the thief?” The stranger set aside her wet towels and walked over to the abusive mother. Calmly, she confronted her face to face, saying, “No, I don’t see a thief at all. I see an innocent child who has borrowed a dime.” The mother’s voice was finally silent, while the father nodded in agreement. As Tobin smiled up into the kind face of the stranger, he sighed with relief.

We shudder to think of such an unloving parent, yet many people still think that is how God treats sinners. The Bible calls Satan “the accuser of the brethren” for a reason; whenever we sin, the devil (like an abusive mother) taunts us and points out our sins. If the devil has a habit of doing something, we can usually be assured that God’s way is the exact opposite. The life of Jesus proves this true by showing us how that God actually treats sinners. Peter and Judas, both were about to betray Jesus and He knew it. As Jesus gently washed the dirt off of their feet, He lovingly warned them of what they were about to do, but He did not condemn them. Regardless of His warning, both of them betrayed Him anyway. It was not their sin that determined their future, but rather the quality of their relationship with Jesus. Judas, not trusting Jesus, bore his own sins and hung himself in shame. Peter, who also felt ashamed, trusted Jesus to carry the burden of his sins and came back to be forgiven.

Even God’s friends betray Him sometimes. The issue is not about what we have done, but rather do we (like Peter) trust Jesus enough to come back to Him? If the devil keeps bringing up your sins, think about how Jesus treated Peter and remember His words to the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”

For Benedict Arnolds like us, that’s really good news!

©2010  Cherilyn Christen Clough

www.myfatherinheavenisperfect.com