Banishment

There was a tree in the woods of our old house.
It was up a slight hill, just to the left as I looked out my kitchen window.
The tree had an upside down horseshoe indentation at the base of the trunk.
I would have never noticed that if not for one of my daughters.

God wires each of us differently.
Our children are born with temperaments and dispositions they carry through their lives.

This particular daughter…sweet as anything…could be incredibly willful.
Not willful in a disruptive way…just knowing who she is and what she wanted.
I used to say, I never had the terrible twos that everyone complains about.
Instead, I had the willful threes.

When they were three, I never knew what child would be waking up each morning.
Would it be the independent, “I can do it myself” three year old?
Would it be the dependent “I need help, Mommy!” three year old?
I never knew.

At four years old, as I was fine tuning table manners, this little one would test her limits.
One evening, I told her that if she did “that” again, she would eat by herself.
I told her that I would put her back in the adjoining laundry room.
She could eat her dinner there.

The laundry room was right next to the kitchen.
The “banished” place was in full view.
You needed to tilt your head around the doorframe just a bit.

She did the offending behavior again…and was removed from the table.
I set up a wooden tray table and chair…and called her.
She came in very quietly…holding her plate…knowing I meant what I said.

She sat down.
I went back to the table to finish my dinner.
She sat in her far away chair…singing.
I tilted my head around the doorframe.
She was happy as can be, swinging her legs, singing her little song.

So much for my brilliant idea!

She finished her dinner…I called her back into the kitchen.
I hugged her and told her how much I loved her…how she must obey the first time.
I reminded her how very much we want her at the table with us.

Around six years old, there were a few times when she was sent to her room.
I would go up and talk to her about what she did, but always remind her how very much I loved her.

Oh, that was the bad Claire, Mommy.
The good Claire was on vacation…but she is back now!

The next day, she wanted me to go outside with her.
She brought me to the tree with the upside down horseshoe indentation.

Mommy, this is where the bad Claire, lives…she said pointing to the horseshoe.

I smiled and hugged her tightly to my chest.
She said more than she knew.

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do, is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. (Romans 7:15-21)

Wouldn’t it be nice if we all had a tree with an upside down horseshoe indentation?
We could blame our sin on our “bad” selves.
We could banish the offender…and send only the “good” self back into daily living.

Except it doesn’t work like that.

There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. (Romans 3:12)

Because Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden, perfect fellowship was broken.
Sin entered the world.
In our sin nature, we all have the desire to be autonomous.
We don’t want anyone…especially God…telling us what to do!

It doesn’t matter that God gave us His Word…His instruction manual.

Did God really say? (Genesis 3:1)

Satan plants the seeds of doubt.
Satan tries to get us to question God’s authority.
Satan tries to get us to believe we are basically good.
Satan tempts us with the lie that we are like God.

You will not surely die…for God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:4)

We can’t be like God.
Only God is God.
We should rest and take comfort in that.

Trusting in ourselves, guarantees that we will make excuses for our sin.
We will blame someone else for the wrong we did, or the hurt we caused.

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Thanks be to God- through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 7:24,25)

Not a horseshoe indentation in a tree…but a sinless Savior hung on a Tree.
Not relying on ourselves to secure our salvation…but trusting in what Jesus did.

God is a Holy God who cannot look at sin.
All of our sin was placed upon Jesus…our substitute…as He was on the cross.
His Father turned His face away.
Jesus experienced banishment…instead of us!

How I praise Him!