What If?

A thought hit me the other day & I haven't been able to get it out of my mind...... As a parent, I love my children unconditionally. I love them all the time, but sometimes I don't really like them. Well, not exactly them, but its their actions & attitudes that I don't like.

I am an optimist. I try to see the good in everyone & I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. But, I'm also a realist. I know that people don't always do the right thing, nor do they always live up to their potential. I look at my kids the same way. No matter how much I try to teach them, I know that they will disappoint me at some point in the future. And that's okay. I believe fully that my children will grow up to be fine upstanding citizens (at least for the most part).

But, I wonder......What if I knew that everytime I asked something from them, they would refuse to do it or say, "Not now, I'm busy."? What if they only showed their love for me 1 or 2 days a week? Would I still have had them? ..... Yeah, I would. They have enriched my life greatly & I love them, no matter what!

Ok, so let's take it a step farther..... What if I have to repeatedly tell them what I want from them? What if I have to discipline them every time they turn around? What if they break my heart because of the way they talk when they think I'm not around? Would I still have had them? ..... Yeah, I think I would. After all, they are just kids being kids right. They feel the need to establish themselves & show off to their friends.

Now, even farther..... What if I knew one day they would have to make a choice between me & their friends? And they just might choose their friends. What if I knew one day I would have to possibly leave one of them behind, not by my choice, but by theirs? Would I still have kids? ..... I would be heartbroken knowing the end results, but I would still have them.

Finally, one more extreme..... What if one day I might have to seriously hurt or kill one of them? What if I had to take away everything they had in the hopes that they would open their eyes to me? Tough love, you might say. What if I had to sacrifice my first child in order to save my last child? Would I still have kids? COULD I still have kids? ..... I don't think I could make those decisions. I don't think I could ever make such a hard choice. And if you are being honest, neither could you.

But someone did. God knew all along what would happen throughout the years. He knew how we would disappoint Him again & again, how we would claim to love Him, but never show it outside of church. He knew that we would need correcting, leading, & loving. He knew that His 1st son would have to die in order for us to live. And He knew that we would make a decision whether to follow Him or to follow the world & that one day, He would have to destroy those who did not choose.

I'm glad that God is a lot wiser than I am!