“Stupid, Stubborn, and Loved”
Just hours after our first child was born, I left my wife at the hospital in Hamilton. I drove home to Brantford to have a shower, tell my mom in person that our baby was born, open a box of collectible Star Wars miniatures that had just arrived in the mail, and have a nap. She fended for herself when all the relatives began to arrive to greet our new bundle of joy. Let my stupidity be a cautionary tale for all the new parents out there — don’t do what I did.
I also once persuaded my wife to rush away from her cousin’s wedding so we could finish purchasing our first van. She had wanted to talk to her grandma before we left, but I stubbornly insisted, so she went along with me. That was the last time we saw her grandma on this side of heaven. She died before we got the chance to see her again. Let my stubbornness be another cautionary tale for all of you — don’t do what I did.
I hope it’s obvious to you that I “married up.” Even after more than 20 years of marriage, I’m amazed that Sarah ever agreed to be my wife and continually shows me enough grace to remain my wife. I can be stupid, and I can be stubborn, but she loves me anyway.
This is how God loves us. He loves his stupid, stubborn people despite what we’re like. I hear King Hezekiah’s warning from 2 Chron. 30:7-9 as though it’s just for me, though we know it’s for all of us. We shouldn’t want to persist in our faithless stupidity and stiff-necked stubbornness. Instead, we should want what is important to God to be most important to us. And we should settle our minds that his priorities should become our priorities.
Maybe you think I’m being a little harsh with myself or with all of us (re-reading the first two paragraphs should remind you that I’m not). After all, stupid and stubborn aren’t very nice words. But the reality of what we’re like isn’t always easy to face. We want things our way, which can sometimes be really stupid. And we want to be right, which usually leads us to being stubborn.
My very forgiving and patient wife is a glimmer of God’s incredibly forgiving patience with his people. “For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.” 2 Chron. 30:9 (ESV)
So let’s not be stupid like I was. Don’t abandon your family when they need you — especially not so you can open the latest toy that just arrived in the mail. And let’s not be stubborn like I was. Prioritize what lasts (i.e., people, maybe especially grandparents) over what doesn’t last (i.e., things, like a new van). And if, like me, you realize you’ve been stupid or stubborn, ask for forgiveness. Even if the person struggles to forgive you, God will certainly forgive you. He promised.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 (ESV)
“For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jer. 31:34 (ESV)
I also once persuaded my wife to rush away from her cousin’s wedding so we could finish purchasing our first van. She had wanted to talk to her grandma before we left, but I stubbornly insisted, so she went along with me. That was the last time we saw her grandma on this side of heaven. She died before we got the chance to see her again. Let my stubbornness be another cautionary tale for all of you — don’t do what I did.
I hope it’s obvious to you that I “married up.” Even after more than 20 years of marriage, I’m amazed that Sarah ever agreed to be my wife and continually shows me enough grace to remain my wife. I can be stupid, and I can be stubborn, but she loves me anyway.
This is how God loves us. He loves his stupid, stubborn people despite what we’re like. I hear King Hezekiah’s warning from 2 Chron. 30:7-9 as though it’s just for me, though we know it’s for all of us. We shouldn’t want to persist in our faithless stupidity and stiff-necked stubbornness. Instead, we should want what is important to God to be most important to us. And we should settle our minds that his priorities should become our priorities.
Maybe you think I’m being a little harsh with myself or with all of us (re-reading the first two paragraphs should remind you that I’m not). After all, stupid and stubborn aren’t very nice words. But the reality of what we’re like isn’t always easy to face. We want things our way, which can sometimes be really stupid. And we want to be right, which usually leads us to being stubborn.
My very forgiving and patient wife is a glimmer of God’s incredibly forgiving patience with his people. “For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.” 2 Chron. 30:9 (ESV)
So let’s not be stupid like I was. Don’t abandon your family when they need you — especially not so you can open the latest toy that just arrived in the mail. And let’s not be stubborn like I was. Prioritize what lasts (i.e., people, maybe especially grandparents) over what doesn’t last (i.e., things, like a new van). And if, like me, you realize you’ve been stupid or stubborn, ask for forgiveness. Even if the person struggles to forgive you, God will certainly forgive you. He promised.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 (ESV)
“For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jer. 31:34 (ESV)
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