One morning recently I had a disagreement with my son. It was just a minor misunderstanding – the kind of thing that blows over easily. But as I was getting ready to leave the house a thought crossed my mind that I was leaving with things a bit unsettled. I thought how terrible it would be if I was involved in some car wreck and died (yes – I probably watch too many dramatic shows!). But I wasn’t sad over the thought of losing my life, I was sad over the thought of my son wrestling over our last encounter. I knew that he would feel regret and the thought of him feeling that way made me sad. Again, we didn’t even have a real argument or anything but I would never want him to think that he would need to feel guilty. Keep in mind that I had my own emotions of being a little miffed but more important to me was making sure that I didn’t leave my son in a bad way or in a situation where he struggled with guilt.
Of course there is a lesson in the story to always work to mend relationships and to not let disagreements remain unsettled. But I also realized that God has that kind of love for us. There are many times in life that we mess up and make mistakes. We can carry guilt that haunts us. Christ came to set us free from all the things that bind us – including guilt. If you examined your life, is there anything that you are too embarrassed or ashamed to admit? Do you feel so guilty over something that you can’t even face it? It is that very thing that God wants to make sure is settled. As much as I love my children, God has a far greater capacity of love. And if I can stop in my tracks to work to correct things just so that they won’t struggle with guilt, how much more does God want for us? Think of God as that parent that doesn’t leave the house to make sure that you are in a good place.
We will all still make mistakes – I imagine that my son and I will have future disagreements. But down deep I think we know that our relationship is built on something deeper than a single conversation. Our relationship with God is not built on making sure we are doing the right thing at every moment, but rather the bond we have as Parent and child. Trust in Christ; He came to make things right in your life.
