Headlines this week in an Arkansas news report:Thursday: Missing boy,13...backpack found...worried father just wants child returned safely.
Friday: Child found ….had been worried over failing at school……ran away...returned safely today.
This could easily have been any of our spiritual stories of running from God. When you get right down to it...we often run from the very arms of a loving Father who has promised to forgive us NO MATTER WHAT. We build up consequences in our minds that far exceed what He tells us will happen in our disobedience. We feel our failures have broken our relationship and we can't face going home. We make poor choices. We waste our talent and time. We simply put, selfishly sin. So we run from God. We run from our responsibility. We run from consequences. We run from ourself...and yet, the sin is still there with us.
I could imagine as I read the report, that this child somehow forgot the love and support that his family had given in the past. Maybe there had been expectations from the earthly father. Maybe the son knew the consequences for failure because the dad had spelled out what the expectations were in that family.
No matter what caused this child to run away, the heart breaking silence of the night this child was away from his family, I believe, was nothing compared to the silence our heavenly father experiences as he waits for us to turn from running and come back to his safe, loving, forgiving arms.
Won’t you drop your failures, your worries, your disappointments, your pride, your fear, your sin; turn around (repent)…and run home to the Father? There may be consequences, but there will always be forgiveness and love waiting for you. Trust HIM today...confess your sin, come home.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
And Father, please rescue us from our own failure to trust you. Forgive us of our sins.
In Jesus name,
AMEN
Run TO The Father!
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