“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God”
Adam and Eve hid.
Humanity has been hiding ever since.
We had some hiding going on in our house this week.
Our oldest son knew he wasn’t supposed to look in the garage closet. Mommy and daddy had told him that there were Christmas presents in there and for him and his brothers not to open that door. Just like it would be for all of us, the instruction not to look in the closet combined with the temptation to see Christmas presents in October proved too potent for resistance.
Once the door had been opened, the brothers staged a coup and tattled on him. Amid cries of “He opened the door and looked in!,” The elder brother pled for mercy and responded honestly and helplessly “But I didn’t see anything!”
I told him that he would have to tell his mother.
As we sat down at the supper table to pray, I asked if he had told his mother. With a beet-red face and glassed-over eyes as big as cue balls, he quietly shook his head “no.” I told him that after supper he could share with mommy what he had done.
We made it through supper, but our son was not his chatty self. You could count all his bites that night on two hands. Earlier than usual, the burdened little boy asked if he could be excused. He carried his plate to the sink and then went silently upstairs.
After supper, Amy went upstairs and found him in bed with the covers pulled up over his head. With a heavy broken heart, mommy saw that he was hiding.
The two of them talked about the Christmas presents and about obeying mommy and daddy, but more importantly they talked about sin and grace.
Mommy asked what Adam and Eve did when they sinned. He quickly said, “They hid.”
“That’s right,” mommy said, “and God was gracious to forgive them—in spite of what they had done.”
“I’m sorry, mommy”
Mommy said, “I love you. Now get out from under those covers and let’s go downstairs with the rest of the family.
Sin Committed. Wrong acknowledged. Grace extended. Relationship restored.
As we celebrated Reformation Day, we all thanked God for the truth of Grace Alone.
