Obedience

I'm doing some 'de-cluttering' in our home.  Even I can't believe the stuff we've saved over the years.  It's been time consuming, not just because of the act of de-cluttering but also because of the trips down memory lane.

Two days ago I found a letter our son wrote when he was about 5-6 yrs. old.  I read it and laughed aloud because I remember well the day he wrote it.  He was going through one of his rebellious stages.  And after school was finished (we home-schooled), he would bring his toys out into the living room.  Being a big fan of Legos, the living room floor would be covered with them as he schemed to design yet another new Lego contraption.  Every day as I began to prepare dinner, I'd tell him to start picking up his toys, explaining that it was nearly time for his dad to come home and we'd be eating.  He'd almost always respond with:  "I will - just a minute Mom."  Then he'd offer some excuse as to why he needed a few extra minutes.

You know the scenario.  We ended up going back and forth and the Legos didn't get picked up.  My husband came home and we  had to try to maneuver through the maze of toys all over the living room floor.  Eventually DAD stepped in.  My husband told our son that he had to start obeying me.  And if he didn't listen and pick up his toys when told, he would throw them in the garbage.  (I know... today that sounds harsh and cruel and possibly borders on child abuse - but back in the day you used whatever tactic you thought might work.)  

Believing that his bark was worse than his bite, our son did obey for a few days, but he soon fell back into the "in a minute" then not doing it at all pattern.  One day my husband came home to find Legos all over the place.  He asked me if I'd told our son to pick them up.  I had - several times.  So without a word, my husband walked into the living room, bent down, cupped his hands around a pile of Legos, strolled into the kitchen and threw them in the trash.

Our son screamed and yelled and cried as my husband headed back for a second handful.  He merely said, "You'd better start picking up the one's you'd like to keep."  Boy, I never saw our son work so fast (or my husband work so slow).  But when he took the Legos to his room, he stayed in there a while.  At dinner that night, he looked pretty angry as presented his dad with the above letter.

My husband read the letter and didn't say a word.  After dinner he took the note into the living room where he picked up a red pen, turned it over and wrote the following:

Then they had a long talk about obedience and why it's so important to obey when asked.  And my husband explained that he doesn't WANT to throw away his toys.  He shared how much it hurts him to have to do that when our son chooses to behave in a rebellious manner.

Our son is nearly 26 yrs. old now with a 5-yr. old son (and 4-yr. old daughter) of his own.  When I read him the notes yesterday, he laughed - then sighed.  "Mom... my son is just like that!" he exclaimed.
"I know - that's why I wanted to read you the notes."  I smiled.

It's laughable now.  But there is such a deeper parallel to this when it comes to spiritual things.

Do you see it?