Saturday, October 13, 2018
My Lucky Friend
He lived a Huck
Finn existence, coming and going as he pleased. The rest of the kids in the
neighborhood considered him lucky. His parents didn’t nag him or set
boundaries. Every time our mothers called us in for church or dinner, we secretly
wished we had his life. He was roaming the streets late at night, going home to
eat whenever he felt like it, and experimenting with whatever he wished. How
lucky can you be?
From where I
stood, my friend lived an exotic life. Once he showed up at our house with an
owl on his arm. I mean, how many kids get to have a pet owl? Admittedly, he did
a few excessively adventurous things such as putting a water snake in his
mouth, so when he opened his mouth it would stick its head out and flash its
tongue. Of course, his unsupervised escapades led to more devious deeds, such
as tying cats’ tails together and hanging them over a clothes line to watch
them fight.
As we grew up
and entered high school our paths diverged, and I was aware that he was experimenting
with drugs and alcohol… still doing whatever he wanted, without anyone standing
in his way. It was a few years later, while away at college that someone gave
me the tragic update. My lucky friend had been shot and killed in a drug deal
gone bad. He didn’t even make it into his mid-twenties. His older sister met
the same fate shortly thereafter. Neither of them ever knew the joys of
marriage or parenthood. They never even really got to grow up.
Suppose someone
had cared enough to discipline my friend. Suppose they had loved him enough to
teach himself discipline. Having observed the end of a life without anyone to
be accountable to give me a fresh appreciation for our Heavenly Father who
loves us enough to judge us and hold us accountable.
Hebrews 12:6 declares, “For
the LORD disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his
child.” To embrace God is
to embrace His discipline. If we trust His character, we will eagerly count on
His discipline and be grateful that He loves us enough to save us from
ourselves. I was the one who was blessed and loved enough to be held
accountable. That accountability made
all the difference! Turns out my friend was not nearly as lucky as I thought.
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