I Don’t Want Mercy!!

May 1, 2008

I Don’t Want Mercy!!

Tonight, my heart was broken by my daughter.  We were having the typical night of the kids going crazy  and disobeying everything we say.  Kaitlyn went a bit too far, and she was told she was getting a spanking.  When I took her into our room, she continued to tell me she would be good.  I told her not to try to make a deal with me.  Anyway, as it neared to the spanking, I talked through with her what she had done.  She understood that what she did was sin and needed to be punished.  She knows about Jesus dying for her, and has trusted in him as her savior(which is something we will not question but nurture and search for fruit).  As I talked about God punishing his son for our sin instead of us, I explained to her what mercy is.  I told her that mercy is when we sin and should be punished, but God chooses not to punish us but chose instead to punish Jesus on the cross.  The conversation then went like this:

ME:  Daddy is going to give you mercy tonight.

Kaitlyn(Balling hysterically): But, I don’t want it!  I don’t want it!

ME: Wait, wait, wait.  Kaitlyn, that is a good thing.  Kaitlyn, stop crying. 

Kaitlyn:  Please, no.

I then had to explain to her that mercy is not what God did to Jesus, but what he didn’t do to us.  So, we sat and talked while she calmed down.  We then prayed, and she asked Jesus to forgive her for sinning.  It was sweet, but I couldn’t imagine what was going through her head when I said that to her. 

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