On a spring afternoon during my third-grade year, I was playing in the front yard when a teenage neighbor asked if I wanted a ride on her 3-wheeler ATV. I was only 8 years old, so of course, I considered this an honor.
The only problem was my dad overheard the invitation and called me in the house. He had an uncanny ability to overhear private conversations. Dad was a police officer and the type of man smart people listened to. But I wasn’t smart.
I stood silently in front of him as he told me in no uncertain terms that I was not to go near the bike. I nodded obediently, returned to the yard, and climbed on the back of the 3-wheeler. (I told you I wasn’t smart.)
Minutes later Dad ran out the front door to the sound of my screams. My friend had rolled the 3-wheeler in the ditch, and I was trapped underneath the bike. I was wearing shorts, and the hot engine had landed on my leg and was melting my flesh like butter.
The next thing I knew, I was out from underneath the bike and in Dad’s arms. Through my sobs, I looked into his eyes and didn’t see even a hint of anger. He spoke softly and his forehead creased like it did when he was concerned. I can’t be sure, but as he tended to me, I suspect I saw a tear or two. There was no reprimands that day, just his embrace.
Fast forward fifteen years, and I am sitting at my kitchen table with my Bible open. Once again, I am crying over a poor decision, but this time I am struggling with whether or not God will forgive me. After all, why should He?
But then I stumbled onto Psalm 103:10-13:
“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.”
My mind drifted back to the bike wreck and my dad rescuing me despite my reckless disobedience. Dad hadn’t told me to stay off the 3-wheeler because he was opposed to me having fun. He was concerned about my safety. In the same way, God’s commands are never intended to limit our enjoyment but protect our physical, emotional, and spiritual well being. If God forbids something, it’s because it has the potential to destroy us.
But when we disobey God and return to Him with a repentant heart, our heavenly Father forgives us, embraces us, and tends to our wounds—even when they are self-inflicted. For reasons I don’t fully understand, God continues to love us no matter how many times we fail.
Might there be consequences? You better believe it. I’ve still got the scar from the bike wreck. I’ve got other scars too—some that are far deeper. Sin is lethal.
But because of Christ’s death and resurrection, we can be Fathered by the One who will never fail us.
Some of my favorite words in the New Testament are found in John 1:12: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
