Teach me, O Lord, how to live by your laws, and I will obey them to the end. [Psalm 119:33 (GW)]

Just because I knew the rules at my boarding school doesn’t necessarily mean I obeyed them. After all, I was a rebellious teen in the 60s. Smoking was strictly forbidden and immediate expulsion was the punishment for that offense. In spite of knowing that, I’d stashed some cigarettes in my luggage when I returned to school one September. A friend and I snuck off to enjoy some furtive puffs and we narrowly escaped being caught. As we anxiously hid in a closet, all I could think of was the shame of being sent home before classes had even begun. Worse than my shame, however, would be my father’s disappointment in me. He’d made a financial sacrifice so I could attend this special school and, for a moment of rebellion, I nearly blew an amazing opportunity! Fortunately, we managed to escape detection. Once safe, I tossed the cigarettes and, from then on, was a model student (at least most of the time).

As an adult, I now think about the sacrifice our Father in Heaven made for our salvation. He gave His only Son to pay for our sins; that’s a heavy price to pay for his rebellious children. Think of His disappointment if we squander this gift. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity; I’m not about to blow it. How about you?

God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. [John 3:16-17 (GW]