Tuesday 21 December 2010

Why do we rebel?

There seems to be a trait in humans, and we see it especially in kids of a certain age ( but hope they will grow out of it), that wants to rebel and kick against the very people who love them and want the best for them.
Why is this?
Whilst it may be understandable in a teenager it is both sad and tragic when it carries on through adulthood. An inability to see or realise or appreciate that somebody is actually and genuinely motivated by doing what you need rather than just what you want. A frightening ability to persuade ourselves that what we want IS what we need.
In Hosea 11 we find these words:
"When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me.......... It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.

If we could hear God's voice it would be full of love and anguish, as He does what He knows is best for people, offering care and love, protection and provision, but His heart is rejected and He goes unrecognised by the people He loves. They think they know best but actually they want something that is way less than His best for them.

In the last para it seems to indicate that God often shows us His love and support through the people we are closest to or people he brings across our path - through human kindness and love - but that people simply fail to recognise the activity of God in good human relationships and actions often rejecting those who love them and the God who acts through them. And all because we know best, that what we want is really what we need, and nothing else will satisfy us. Anyone coming with a different story becomes the focus of rebellion and rejection.
Why not ask God to open our eyes to recognise not only what really is best for us, to differentiate between want and need and to value those people who have our real best interests at heart and express this through their actions?



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