The comfort we find under an umbrella is refreshing ,but is not the only way to stay dry. Watching rain and preparing for it are strangely familiar and troublesome. Years ago ,I would play in the warm rain of summer ,manning my make shift boats in the swelling run off rivers of my neighborhood street. Once I got caught on the banks of a normally harmless creek. I slip off the muddy bank and fell headlong in the abnormally deep creek. I survived the creek water but almost didn’t survive the punishment for being drenched. The rain and my playtime have always carried this duality. The tropical rain could cancel a Little League baseball game and also make a football game a fun challenge. This is how I learned being safe in my parents care would not always coincide with my playful ambitions. The safety and security of the Rich household was predictable and consistent ,thank God. The familiarity of my safety and comfort led to my contempt for the predictability of it all. I had always fancied myself tough as a nail ,and admire the strength of ,”real men”. Despite my point of view ,I was under the watch and care of my mother. We can be under someone else’s care and not appreciated it or recognized it. This is an juvenile response to leadership and organization.
God’s providence placed me in a loving and safe family. You may or may not have had such an experience ,but life is sustained by care and safety. Let’s agree that the degree of safety and care can vary from neglect to spoiling. Ultimately, God is the giver of life and all living beings are in His care regardless of their attitude toward the family our great Care Giver allows us to experience.
My youthful rebellion ain’t go viral or making a best sellers list. Nonetheless ,I did act out many sinful impulses as child. I would ignore my parents lead when it came to my conduct outside of the household. Juvenile brains and behavior have been studied and explained many times and ways. It’s immature contempt for good safe mature decisions and actions of parents and those who care. The bible is full of many stories about how the people who had physically benefited from their relationship with God ,yet proceed to violate His law and subsequently go out from under his umbrella of protection. Look at Genesis and the story of Adam and Eve. Imagine Adam and Eve as juveniles under the care of a great King who is also their father. These juveniles had everything! Listen to the snake! The tempter sounds much like people I encountered who were successfully influenced my rebellion. How bout you? Replace the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil with what may have been a life changing youthful decision. Adam places the blame on everyone else making his conversation sound like a child. God provided salvation ,but not absolution. The cost was so heavy that we still can see the ramifications his disobedience today. Remembering my parents reactions during my childhood ,saved me ,but didn’t keep me from punishments.
The umbrella of God’s care in a rainy wicked world consist of bible and prayer and worship in obedience! The truth is youthful energy and inexperience are not excuses for our rebellion. Obedience in a life of faith in Jesus keeps us from entertaining flesh and sin. The bore of safety and comfort looks great to those who don’t have it. The comedian Sinbad gave a great story about safety and obedience. He reminisced about childhood and the street light curfew many households put on their children during his childhood. Once the street lights came on most of us had to go home and be in the house. Sinbad pointed out some children either didn’t go in or were not required to be home once the street lights came on. The anguish of looking outside and seeing someone still out doing what they wanted to do was a funny thought. The story had a moral to it. He pointed out that those same children who were out after the street lights came on are now inside looking at us outside through prison bars. This cautionary tell helps to change my view on what God commands do for us as we obey. The consequences of our actions often last longer then it took to do them. The umbrella work just like obedience to the commands of God. Make God known by your conduct faith and attitude. Worship and obey Him. Sure we could walk into the rain without His umbrella, but why?
