I read a great story this week by a man called Fred.
He remembers a time from his childhood when he and his little brother were chopping firewood…
‘Leon had his hand on the piece of wood that I wanted to chop.
“Move your hand’, I demanded. No”, he replied. I chopped anyway. He screams. I recall an image of a V shape in his hand, with blood spurting. He runs inside with terror in his scream and my mother was distraught threatening me with the police. Soon I was sent to call the ambulance. As my brother and mother were taken to the hospital I was left with nowhere to hide, isolated and lost.
When my father comes home he hears the story and does not immediately respond. He carries out his usual chores (and finishes cutting the wood) then he calls me into his room. I am dying inside, shattered to silence. He allows the silence to continue for what seemed a lifetime before he said, “Do you know what you have done?” I replied “yes”. More silence. I felt shame and guilt deep into my soul. Finally he said “You have been punished enough”. I expected a hiding and the lost of parental approval. I thought I was going to grow up isolated and condemned. My father taught me about forgiveness and grace that day.
I still had to make it up to my brother and I became the ideal big brother protector. But I never forgot those words of my father. I experienced the reality of grace and it set me up to properly understand God’s grace and forgiveness. The consequences of my mistake took months to repair. Other mistakes we make in life may take years to repair. However we can face those consequences secure in the knowledge that God is gracious. Jesus has died in our place. He was punished enough.’
Stephen Semenchuk
Senior Pastor
