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LET LOVE BE
YOUR GUIDE
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and
abounding in steadfast love ... He does not deal with us
according to our sins nor repay us according to our iniquities
... As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has
compassion for those who fear him. For he knows how we were
made; he remembers that we are dust.
"I meant to stay angry at
you for a while."
My 11-year-old daughter Katie had been furious - first at her
brother Matthew for being his usual teenage self to her, then at
me for not seeing her way 100 percent. She stormed outside, came
back in, went outside again and then came in once more. She
plopped herself on the sofa, chin in hands. After I joshed her
for a few minutes, she peered at me and smiled sheepishly. She
admitted she had wanted to stay angry but couldn't.
I knew how she felt. Oh, the times I had been angry at something
my children had done; I had planned to punish them but good. No
TV! No computer! No iPod! To your room for an hour! No, for a
day! After a little bit, though, the anger is replaced by an
even greater feeling - love! - and it leads to forgiveness.
Love conquers anger, changes it - love abides! I can't help but
remember the Bible passage about the greatest Father of all -
that he is "slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love." If
God can forgive the people of the world for all the bad things
they do, how can I not forgive when the cat litter isn't changed
or the dishes aren't put in the sink? If God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten Son so our sins could be
forgiven, who am I to not let love guide me?
Dear Lord, in these
trying times, events and circumstances can harden a heart. As we
begin a new Lenten season to commemorate your great and
magnificent act of love for us, your children, let us remember
to let love guide us, too. Amen.
Ken Hobart
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