Daily Devotion

July 27, 2006

Psalms 106:7-8 Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea. (8) Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.

It is not until children grow up and have a turn in the role of parenthood that they are able to truly appreciate what their parents have done for them. We, as parents, know the anguish, tears, desperate prayers and long night watches spent at the bedside of a sick child. We are accustomed with the worries and concerns that plague us as our dear one is suddenly faced with the brand new issues of teenage hood. We are familiar with the dilemma of not being able to afford to give a child something very important to them, and have been faced with the deep sacrifices required to secure their future. Most of all, when all is said and done, we also know the scorn, criticism and ungratefulness of the young ‘buck’ who like the proverbial prodigal son, proudly leaves the family den to show us ‘how it should be done’. He then squanders our love and care on what does not profit, only to come back years later with his tail between his legs’ begging for cash to get him out of a ‘pickle’ and to get a chance to a new start. Taking the issue down one more knot, only a parent, no matter what the child has done, will continue to love, care, show concern and mercy to a child, even through a microphone behind the glass of a prison’s visiting room, or during visits at a recovery center.

When the prodigal son returned home, his father told the older son, “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine” (Luke 15:31). The older brother was now the sole inheritor of the father’s wealth. The younger brother had lost all except one thing: the love of his Father; he was still welcome at the father’s table, as a son. This story is the analogy that Jesus gave to describe God’s relationship with us, to show us the love He has for us, as a parent.

Not only He loves us, but also He seems to care about His sample to us as a parent. When a parent abandons his child just because he is bad, this parent is looked down upon. So God, that he might make his mighty power to be known (Psalms 106:8) saves us. That is the miracle of His loving grace and power that He saves us in spite of us!

1Ti 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

Patrick Lumbroso
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