His love means nothing to me
OPINION —
I love a good story and the best stories have a happy ending. I like it when the big bad wolf loses and the three little pigs win. I cheer for the tortoise when he beats the hare to the finish line.
The greatest story Jesus told has a happy ending. The prodigal son comes to his senses and returns home where he is forgiven and reconciled to his father.
Far more than a sentimental fairy tale, Jesus’ story exposes the harsh realities of life. The prodigal’s elder brother refuses to celebrate his brother’s return. This adds a twinge of sadness to the story’s happy ending.
Many stories have sad endings because we are broken people living in a broken world. A beautiful child becomes sick and dies. A young man of promise is killed in a senseless car wreck. A beloved teenaged daughter dies from a drug overdose. Cancer takes the life of a young mother who leaves behind two small children.
Some stories leave us heartsick because foolish decisions prevented happy endings. One such story involved a man who for several weeks followed the revival meetings of Dwight L. Moody. In one town after another, this man came forward at the end of each meeting and asked Moody for permission to address the audience. Then, standing before everyone in a rumpled suit, the old man spoke with a breaking voice:
“Is my son George here tonight? George, if you are here, please come and talk to me. I love you, George, and I cannot die in peace until we have been reconciled.”
Each time, no one came forward. And each time, the old man walked off the platform, dejected and desolate, his shoulders drooping.
Finally, late one night, there was a knock on the door of Moody’s motel room. The evangelist opened the door to find a stranger there, who said, “Mr. Moody, I have come to ask you to tell that old man to stop making a fool of himself on your platform every night.”
Puzzled, Moody asked, “Why, what concern is that to you?”
“My name is George,” he said. “That old man is my father.”
Moody replied, “Then why don’t you go to him and be reconciled to him. Surely you can see that he loves you very much.” Moody was stunned by the man’s response.
“His love means nothing to me,” he said. “He’s an embarrassment to me, and I just want him to go home and leave me alone.”
Despite Moody’s pleading, the young man refused to go talk to his father. So far as Moody knew, the two of them were never reconciled.
The truth is, the stories of our loves will not have a happy ending unless we become willing to be reconciled to others, and most of all, to be reconciled to our heavenly Father.
A stubborn, unforgiving attitude will thwart God’s desire to write a happy ending to the story of our lives. And there is no doubt as to what kind of ending He wants for each of us.
People can do and say cruel things to us. They can become our enemies and persecute us. But as disciples of Jesus, we are forbidden to hate them in return. Jesus made that clear when he said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). And Jesus made it just as clear that we must forgive those who sin against us: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15). A forgiving spirit is not an option: it is absolutely necessary if we are to have peace with God.
Is forgiveness sometimes so difficult that we cry, “I cannot forgive that person for what he or she has done to me!” Of course it is! But that’s where Jesus comes in. When he is Lord of our lives, living in and reigning in our hearts, then he helps us do what is impossible in our own strength. That, perhaps, is what Saint Paul meant when he declared, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
A happy ending of one’s life story, then, requires a vital connection to the One who is the Vine, so that as branches we may remain in him and he in us. Only then can we bear the fruit of forgiving love, for apart from Jesus we can do nothing. (John 15:5) With him, and in him, all things are possible! (Matthew 19:26) When Jesus is Lord we can live a life filled with love.
Jesus understands our need of His help, and He is ready to give it so the story of our lives can have the ending that our heavenly Father desires.
