A father gathered his children at the start of the school
year; "We are going to go on a trip this
summer and we are going to travel the world.”
The children were gladdened by the opportunity they would be given. Their father continued in giving his children
instructions; “I am excited to take you all on this trip. I am going to require that you do a few
things, though, so that I can ensure that you are focused and prepared for this
trip. First, I want all of you to make
grades that qualify you for the honor role.
Second, you must attend 75% of you church meetings. Third, you must earn $300 so that you can
have spending money while we are traveling.”
For many of the children, these expectations seemed
difficult to achieve, but because they had a great desire to travel the world,
they prepared to do what they could to meet the set expectations. Their father spent the next months reminding
them of the requirements for the trip and offering great amounts of
encouragement; “I want you all to be able to attend this trip. If you need help in making good grades, I
will assist you with your homework. If
you have trouble attending your church meetings, I will wake you up and take
you. If you find it difficult to earn
money, I will find odd jobs around the house for you to do. I am always here and I am always willing to help you.”
When the end of the school year came, the father gathered
his children like he did months earlier; “Children, I am excited that we will
be leaving for our trip soon. I know
that you have spent months working hard so that we could all travel together
and see so many new and exciting places.
So, how have you done in reaching your goals?” The first child to respond said, “I made the
honor roll and I attended 75% of my meetings, but I only could earn $150.” The second child similarly reported, “I made
the right amount of money and I made great grades, but I just could not get up enough
for seminary each morning.” The third
child followed, “I tried really hard, but I was only able to attend my church
meetings. I could not make the money and
my grades were not good enough.”
The children were saddened as they looked back on their hard
work to only see that they could not live up to the standards set for them by
their father. “Well, I am sorry for you
all. I know that the rules I set were
hard to reach but you also understood that if you did not accomplish them, you
could not come on the trip,” the father said.
It was time for the oldest son to report on his progress; “Father, I
knew that my younger siblings would likely fall short, so I did all I could in
consideration of their ability. I not
only made the honor role, I made perfect grades in every class. I also attended all of my church meetings,
not just 75%. I even took on additional
jobs and made $3000. I pushed myself to
my limit so that I could make up for the shortcomings of my siblings.” Now, each child would be able to go on the trip.
Jesus Christ suffered so that in our faults and weaknesses,
we could still be able to return to live with God our Father. The Father wants the best for us and
therefore sets for us the highest standards.
He understands our imperfections, though, and He sent our older brother,
Christ, so that we are redeemed. In
these things I have faith and hope.
No comments:
Post a Comment