toddlers

A friend of mine has a brother currently with the military in Iraq. He told his family he was very discouraged because the Iraqi soldiers they work with steal from them. He said the people don't seem to know right from wrong, and they don't choose the good even when it is offered to them. [This isn't a political comment: i've heard equally valid stories from other friends that share how much good and improvement is going on, so i guess there is both. This post, however, is meant as a comment on humans in general.]

I wonder if that's analogous to how God feels when he looks at Earth. Humans in general--myself included--don't often choose to do, say, or believe what is good. On the other hand, maybe God doesn't become discouraged at all because he knows the end of the story in detail. It did make me reflect on how i'm living at the moment and want to not be a disappointment to God.

A wise woman told me that God isn't disappointed in us. Not to underestimate his holiness or glory, but she said to think of myself as a toddler--are parents disappointed when, in attempting to walk, their two-year-old plops down on her diaper-padded rear? No. They get her back up and encourage her to walk to their arms.

I guess i need to have a more accurate self-image. I'm not yet a finished, mature product although i have learned many things and have even matured a little. I am a toddler, especially if (and i believe it to be true) we are immortal. When i choose to not do right, discipline is in order; when i am unable to accomplish something, God is merciful.

(Discipline is a sort of mercy, too. Thank God he doesn't leave us stuck the way we are!)