I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with
lovingkindness (Jeremiah 31:3).
One night I came home from work and my wife Joanne met me at the door. "You
better go talk to Karl," she said solemnly. "I think Karl threw his hamster,
Johnny, this afternoon."
I went to Karl and asked him point blank, "Did you throw Johnny this afternoon?"
He denied it firmly. Unfortunately for poor Karl, there was an eyewitness that
afternoon. Again I confronted Karl, this time with one of those oversized
plastic whiffle bats which make a lot of noise on a child's behind without
inflicting too much damage. "Karl, tell me the truth. Did you throw Johnny?"
"No." Whack! No matter how much I threatened, Karl wouldn't confess. I was
frustrated. Finally I gave up.
A couple of days later Joanne met me at the door again. "You better go talk to
Karl. Johnny died."
I found Karl in the backyard mourning over his little hamster. Karl and I talked
about death and dying, then we buried Johnny. "Karl, I think you need to pray
now," I said.
"No, Dad. You pray."
"Karl, Johnny was your hamster. I think you need to pray."
Finally he agreed. This was his prayer: "Dear Jesus, help me not to throw my new
hamster." What I couldn't coax out of him with a plastic bat, God worked out in
his heart.
Why did Karl lie to me? He thought if he admitted to throwing his pet, I
wouldn't love him. He was willing to lie in order to hold onto my love and
respect which he feared he would lose if he admitted his misbehavior. I reached
down and wrapped my arms around my little son. "Karl, I may not approve of
everything you do, but I'm always going to love you."
Dr. Anderson, Freedom in Christ and Harvest House Publishers
www.ficm.org
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