When my friend, Bryan, was in Jr. High he slammed his finger in a door. We had been goofing around, running and slamming doors and his Dad told us, "Stop! You are going to get hurt!" Bryan disobeyed and whack! Door, slam, finger, ouch! The nail turned purple the pressure built. To go to his Dad with this injury would be to admit disobedience so Bryan tried everything to alleviate the pain...distraction, diversion, sedation - nothing worked. Finally he couldn't take it anymore, the pain and pressure was killing him. So he went to his Dad admitted his guilt, asked for forgiveness and received it. Now, if his Dad had stopped there, at forgiveness, what would you think of him?
He didn't.
His Dad said, "FOLLOW me." We went into the garage, he dug around in the tool box and pulled out a butane torch and drill. He lit the torch to sanitize the drill bit. Our eyes were popping out of our heads! The plan at this point was apparent - Bryan was not...Poof!
Bryan could apologize, he could be nice, he could start to obey, he could praise his Dad...but none of that would accomplish the healing that could only come from - faith, from following and obeying his Dad.
What if forgiveness is just the beginning, not the end of what God has in store for us? Gosh, I hope so, because I need a "hole" lot more than just forgiveness.
Be His,
Didymus
Didy,
Good stuff. This makes healing at least doubly painful--in addition to the pain of the sin itself--- 1) confession (humblingly painful) and then the process of restoration (sometimes physically, often emotionally, painful). I guess there could be others too, relationship pain, etc.
He disciplines those He loves though.
TM
Posted by: Thomas More | May 12, 2008 at 10:38 AM
Didymus,
What exactly did his dad do with the torch? I'm not medically minded. I am imagining some graphic things, but I don't know how a torch and drill would heal his nail? Sounds like an episode of "24" to me.
-Lu
Posted by: Lucy | May 13, 2008 at 07:03 PM
Lucy,
Didymus would know, but my guess is the torch was to clean the drill--that's what Didy is referring to with "sanitize the drill bit" I think--and the drill was to create a hole to relieve the pressure.
TM
Posted by: Thomas More | May 14, 2008 at 04:41 PM
Correct Thomas! Maybe you could fill-in for Keiffer on 24 until his jail time is up...
Didy
Posted by: Didymus | May 16, 2008 at 05:47 AM
OK, that is so gross.
Posted by: Lucy | May 16, 2008 at 04:10 PM