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Out On A Limb

But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Isaiah 59:2

I was not a bad kid growing up. Mischievous, sure, sneaky, of course, but not bad. My biggest fault was my smart mouth. I just never did seem to grasp the art of shutting up when it was good for me. I confess I still can have a smart mouth; the last word is just so sweet.

My parents were strong supporters of Proverbs 13:24 and 23:13. They enthusiastically exercised their God given rights often, but not without provocation. Today, I thank God they were parents that cared enough to discipline myself and my siblings. Raising my own children I have come to realize that it would be so much easier to just let them be sometimes but that is not what I was called as a parent to do.

Discipline is never pleasant it is the least favorite part of my responsibilities as a parent.

One suffocating afternoon in late July, when I was 8 or 9, my mouth got me in trouble …again. I knew this because my mom’s beautiful olive green eyes dilated into black ink blots and her lips disappeared into a thin white line. I was well acquainted with this reaction, and as she reached for me I ducked, faked left and cleared the back steps. Across the yard, I ran—my legs pumping literally for my life. Swiftly dodging the scattered toys and wading pool, I hit the tree at full speed, digging my toes into the bark; I went to the tallest part, hoping the spindly limbs would hold me. I wedged my foot in the fork and rested my rump against the opposing branch. I was, at least for the moment free.

Of course, my mom was no slouch she had been close on my heels and there she stood, white knuckled fist dug into her hips, staring at me from the base of the tree. In that moment as our eyes locked, I wondered what would happen next. Would she shake me from my perch like a ripe apple or come up after me? Either was possible. For a moment we simply stared at one another.

She turned and headed back, the slap of her flip flops fading as she disappeared into the house. I exhaled the breath I had been holding and relaxed. As I began to negotiate my descent; the slap of flip flops cracked me to attention. Back up the tree I clawed and reclaimed my temporary refuge. Marching across the yard, magazines tucked under her arm and a folding chair bouncing violently behind her, she placed the lounger below the tree and stretched out in the shade. From her short’s pocket she withdrew a Tab cola, its condensation twinkling in the sun teased me. Popping the top, she selected a magazine and there she sat thumbing through recipes and articles as I clung to the limb battling insects, heat and fatigue.

Have you ever found yourself out on a limb? Stranded in the heat, nowhere to go, alone with your sin? Have you stepped off the path? Lost your focus?

It was a long, breezeless afternoon. The late sun, orange with angry heat, bore down on me zapping my strength. Eventually I had to come down and face the consequences of my behavior. It was hard to come out of the tree and stand next to her knowing that punishment was inevitable. But your sin, your punishment has been commuted by the blood of Christ Jesus.

God is waiting. He is waiting for you to come to Him. He is waiting to forgive you and rid you of the sin that has separated you from Him. Through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, He has made a way to close that gap that was created by sin.

Do not wait; come to the Father through the Son. He waits for you.

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us- ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9