It’s April in the southern suburbs of Chicago. We have had two snow storms less than a week apart. I have heard all of my life that April showers bring May flowers, but I’m not sure what April snow brings. The first storm did bring a 54 car pileup on one of the expressways. Fortunately, injuries were minor. It might have been much worse if most of us weren’t at home because of business closures and the governor’s COVID-19 stay at home order. Looking at the site from a traffic copter, it was clear those cars were no longer keeping a social distance from each other. I wonder how many of those drivers and passengers were essential workers on their way to their jobs and how many were rebellious escapees from the stay at home order.
Every person is different, but there are some facets of human nature we all share to a certain degree. Rebellion against authority is one of those. Around the age of two, we realize that our parents control our behavior with that powerful word “no” and we decide to take back some of that control by telling them “NO” – endlessly. I’m sure it must have driven my parents crazy, but they patiently explained why the restrictions were for my own good and showed me all of the good things that I could do instead. I began to realize that obedience was to my advantage and my rebellious nature seemed to disappear. Then, at the age of 13, that rebellious nature reared its head once again because I thought I now knew more than my parents and wanted to do things my way instead of theirs. I’m sure many parents wonder during that stage if having a child was such a good idea after all. It didn’t take many failures for me to realize that my parents were much smarter than I gave them credit for being.
When Jesus introduces us to His Heavenly Father and through faith in Christ we become a son or daughter of God, we must struggle to overcome our rebellious nature once again. At first we see the Bible and the Christian life as a long list of no-noes. Your Heavenly Father is saying no to all of those things that used to give you pleasure and you feel like telling Him no. There was a Broadway play years ago that described that situation perfectly, “Your arm’s too short to box with God”. But then, like C.S. Lewis, you are “Surprised By Joy” when the Holy Spirit dwelling in you points out all of the wonderful things God wants you to do instead. It is then that you find joy and satisfaction in obedience to your Heavenly Father and find all of the wonderful promises in God’s word for those sons and daughters who faithfully serve Him. The Christian life hasn’t always been easy, but it has always been rewarding and satisfying