I like to keep my lawn looking good. There's nothing like a thick,
lush, dark green lawn. I have a lot of different tools & supplies
for keeping it looking good such as my lawn mower, my weed whip, weed
killer, edger, fertilizer, dandelion remover and those kinds of things. I
own my lawn, and I'm in control of my lawn. I'm responsible for what
goes on in my yard. My name is on the title and I have assumed the
responsibilities of a home owner. Pretty soon my sons will be old enough
to start helping me out. I will teach them how to use the mower, the
weed whip, how to fertilize and all the other tips & tricks for
keeping it looking nice.
When that time comes I will go out into
the lawn with them and demonstrate. I will get down on their level and
let them try and walk along side of me until they get the hang of it.
After a few demonstrations and having them walk along side of me for a
few weeks, I will formally hand over responsibilities to them. I will
transfer my authority as the home owner to them, my sons, and give them
the key to the mower. Then I will go back into the house.
While
I'm in the house, I will listen for them and keep my ears open for any
cries for help. I'll be thinking about them a lot, and hoping they do
well and really take ownership in the work. While sitting in my chair
I'll glance over at their pictures on the coffee table and think about
how much I love them and how proud I am to be their father.
Then
I'll remember that the lawn falls prey to voles and grub worms during
certain times of the year. For a moment I'll be concerned but then I'll
remember how I showed them how to get rid of these vermin and parasites
and that there is nothing to fear because my sons are in control and
they have way more power than those little things. Just step on them and
throw out some poison. I love watching them take authority over these
things - just like I taught them to do.
Never in a million years
would I consider opening the window and start shooting my sons with a BB
gun in the knees to teach them something or to see if they can still
take care of the lawn while in pain. Never in a million years would I
take some dandelion seeds and throw them out into the lawn. Never in a
million years would I 'take' one of my sons while the other son weeps
for the loss of his brother and calls me "mysterious."
Never.
Why? Because I'm a loving father. Because suffering never really
teaches us anything other than how to endure more suffering. Because
just as Jesus said, "a kingdom [or lawn!] divided against itself cannot
stand."
If I was telling my boys to take care of the lawn while
hurting them in any way, or allowing voles & grubs into the lawn, or
weeds - I would not have a lawn for very long, and I would be a
terrible father. My sons would likely give up, thinking that I must have
changed my mind about wanting a nice lawn because I'm sending all their
problems. "We might as well sit tight and take a break - it looks like
Daddy must have changed his mind about us."
See, Satan's #1 goal
is trying to deceive us into thinking God is somehow responsible for
evil & suffering because our entire identity is formed by how we
experience God's love.
Because we have fallen for this
deception, we come up with complicated, false theories & doctrines
about the absolute sovereignty of God which is completely unbiblical -
we tell the world that "God is in control" and lay down in the lawn
while the weeds, voles & grub worms take over. We tell each other
that Daddy's tools stopped working anyway. Our loved ones die from grub
worm bites, and at the funerals we try to comfort them by saying Daddy
is in control and "Daddy works in mysterious ways."
But He does not work in mysterious ways. He is good ALL the time. He is not mysterious, and He put us in control of the lawn.
To this, there are some Christians who will say, "That makes for a
pretty small God" as if claiming that removing evil from God somehow
diminishes His nature. To me, that's just sad. Removing the allowance of
evil from God doesn't diminish His nature or character - it strengthens
it. It puts evil its proper place - "Satan, the father of lies".
Anything other than this Jesus describes as the "blasphemy of the Holy
Spirit" - attributing evil to God's goodness.
Other Christians
will say, "Wait a minute, I learned a lot from the times of my
suffering." Of course you did, because "all things God works for the
good of those who love him, who have been called according to his
purpose" (Rom. 8:28). God doesn't cause the suffering. He may pick you
back up and "work it together" for your good because He loves you, but
He never causes it. He loves you. He never pushes you off your bike, He
just picks you back up and bandages your wounds.
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." - Jesus
See, God loves you. If something is not going well or if there is evil
in your life, use the authority He gave you and command it to leave.
"The power of life and death is in our tongue" (Proverbs 18:21). You
have the keys to the lawn mower. Pick up the rake and smack that thing
in the head. Don't blame God. If you want to blame someone, blame the
adversary - Satan. And then step on him.
May we trust in the
goodness of our Father. May we trust that our Daddy's garage is full of
"everything we need for life & godliness" (2 Peter 1:3). May we look
up at the house window, see our Father giving us a 'thumbs up' from His
chair and mouthing the words "I love you. Well done. You've got this."
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