Sunday reflections: The Sacrifice... not in vain?

Giggles. A smile. Two beady eyes look up at me as this playful soul test the boundaries. I cast a weary, perplex look.

"Cannot. I TOLD you times before not to swing (on the baby hammock)."

Silence. Gleeful hands and playful mind ignore my plea. And this weary mother lets it go (again) with an ambiguous threat- "... if your father sees you, then you know."

And before long, we all know. A solid thud on the floor. I spin around too late. And i sit there, and see this poor sibling knocked off his feet, the crash resulting in another crash, falling another foot apart from the bed height to the floor.


"Sorry... sorry..." The words come out softly, eyes expressing concern, hand carressing the pain.  But the mother is bent on punishment in spite of it all.

Hard slap on the waist. A thunder of words, and i-told-you-so's. And the chastisement continues for another bit. And when father comes, mother instigates, and a cane on the hand.

Crestfallen.

But wait... isn't he already sorry? Hadn't he learnt his lesson? Could i have handled it better? Should i have given him a chance?

How too soon, in all the swim of emotion, we have resorted to punishment firstly.

And in the aftemath of it all, after much pondering, only then i decided it was a bad choice. How about a better way? Maybe to slow-talk him in the right time, to teach him where it would impact the root cause of the issue:

Change the heart to change the behavior.

"Son, do you now see the consequence of your actions? So, please don't do it again. Remember this, because your brother paid for your lesson with a crack on his head."

And while i was rehearsing through this lost opportunity and regret, then it dawned on me, how this situation rings true for me (and humanity as well).

It's just that my disobedience does not show up swinging in the baby hammock.


How many opportunities have i let go or stubbornly not learnt? How many times must the Lord bear me before i get the point?

God, HIMSELF, paid for my sins with His Blood. His Life.

Am i going to let His death be in vain?

I pray for grace.