When His Work Was Done, He Rested

   

  Yesterday I had the great joy of keeping my 3 year old "great" grandson (no I am not that old-- he is my grandson and he is a great kid) while my daughter ran some errands. The deal was that she would put him down for a nap while she was out and I would be close by to keep an eye on him.

     Well I know better than to go back downstairs while he is "sleeping".  Even though my office is only a few steps from his bedroom, he has become quite adept at being an escape artist.  For that reason, the door that leads from my workstation to his room is not only locked, but barricaded with a child's fence and a very large recliner.  For that reason I cannot simply just open the door and check on him.  I would have to go out through the garage and then in the front door and go down the inside stairs to check on him.

     So option B was to simply stay upstairs in the house while the little angel was sleeping...except he WASN'T SLEEPING!  Now normally, he is like a speech and sound generator.  He know virtually every line to all the Toy Story movies as well as Cars 1 (and he is working on Cars 2).  So he never shuts up when he is awake.  Now this is not a complaint -- just an observation.  There is one time, though, when he manages to be completely silent -- when he is in what I call "Stealth Mode."

     When he is in stealth mode, he is completely silent.  For example, besides the constant noise he generates, when he runs up and down the stairs and through the house it sounds like a herd of elephants.  If I am working downstairs I can tell if he is upstairs because I can hear him through the floor running around. 

     But not when he is in stealth mode.  He has mastered the art of silent running when he is in stealth mode.  Which is why I did not hear him come up the stairs and go into his mother's locked bedroom.  Yes, I said, "Locked Bedroom."  But this miniature cat burglar can unlock locked doors. Seriously.  So he stealthily came up the stairs, and did his voodoo magic on the door lock and then silently shut the door behind him.  Then he tossed the room.  When I used that term to describe his actions, my daughter, who is a college graduate, did not know what I meant, so let me explain:

     When I worked at the United States Disciplinary Barracks (U.S.D.B) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, I would often walk past a cell that was being "tossed" by the prison guards.  Simply put, they would go into the cell and pick up, and turn over, everything, tossing the items usually on the bed, but occasionally on the floor.  When they finished, the inmate would have to put his or her room back in order.

     My "great" grandson tossed his mother's room.  And when his work was done, he climbed into her bed and pulled the covers up to his chin.  She had left the television on so he laid there enjoying yet another episode of Yo Gabba Gabba.  At least until I went to check on him and found him there.  Then his joy ended.

     I would like to say that was the end of the story, except he is very much like his "great" grandfather in that he very seldom learns his lesson the first time.  Instead he must exercise his right to a redo.  About 45 minutes later I found him once more in the bed with Yo Gabba Gabba on the television.  I was not happy but then, neither was he.  I sent him back to his room about the time that my daughter returned and I quickly return the parental reigns back into her hands.  I cannot tell you what happened next but there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth from somewhere downstairs.

     I do feel somewhat responsible for my grandson's actions.  I say that because, after all, my genetic structure is, to some degree, floating around (does genetic structure float?) inside of him.  I would like to tell you that I was a "great" child, but I had my own stealth mode when I was his age and apples don't fall too far from the tree that bore the fruit that became the tree that dropped this little one to the ground.  (It's a little complicated but if you will get with me later, I can draw you a picture.)

    So, Pastor Dave, what is the lesson in all of this?  

I am glad you asked.  

Based on the title, you might suspect that I would pull the verse describing God's actions on the 7th day, but that is not where I am going with this story.  Instead, let me draw your attention to the book of Psalms 139:11-12:

¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
   and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
   the night will shine like the day,
   for darkness is as light to you. 

    We all operate in the stealth mode, when we think no one is watching.  We do things that we think will never be seen by anyone; but as Bette Miller aptly sang, "God is Watching You" and he sees EVERYTHING.  All that we do will come to light someday.  Revelation 20:11-13 says this:

 ¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. ¹³ The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.  (emphasis mine).

     So don't operate in the stealth mode with regard to sin, or you too might find yourself "weeping and gnashing your teeth" in a very bad place....forever.