Deuteronomy 21:18-21 (King James Version)
18If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:
19Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
20And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
21And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
Yeah, I know. A real tough one. But, it kept coming to me with that strong, "Tell this to your son!" persistence. So, I decided to be a Bible thumper and tell the kid he should not be so rebellious towards me, that children not listening to their mothers is considered so heinous to God that he even demands such children be stoned.
I reminded kid of the strange dream he had a year ago where he saw a clock whose hour and minute hands looked like staircases and led outside the boundaries of the clock downward. He said he had risen from the dream with the feeling that he had to get his act together. I reminded him that God "does not always strive with man" and that the worst thing that can happen to a person is for God to leave him alone to his own devices and his own evil. It seems God is giving you a time limit.
Upshot: Kid told me off.
Second upshot: Woke up this morning -- about an hour ago-- to mega-noise and screaming out my doors. Yep, a Professor Gates incident right outside my door. Son was standing in front of our yard. Cops came rolling around and asked for ID. Son ASKED them questions instead of simply kowtowing to them. Son is now in jail. Will wait for the morning to hear what the judge says. Am hoping son doesn't lose his job because he didn't show up.
Now, what to do? I have to Decide something. I can go wailing and freaking out or I can decide that this is best. I asked the Lord to do all that was necessary to save my son from hell. Yep, I believe in a literal permanent hell. Perhaps this is of God. Perhaps it is not. I suspect this creepy annoying business might be a gift from God as an answer to prayer. Hell is permanent; jail isn't.
I will decide to believe that come what may from this upsetting situation, it is best for son's soul, son's future behavior, the family. As Hagar says, "You, God, see me."
More and more I see God's nearness to me. Should i believe that -- in this situation-- he's far away? No. I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
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