[article by Rollin Mohler]
I’ve heard it many times: “1…2…2 and ½…2 and ¾…2 and 7/8…3!” I see the child in the distance who has been told to obey. A parent has barked out an order and they are waiting for the child’s response. What is going to happen? Who will win this showdown?
To my memory, I have never taken this approach. I have often wondered where this counting technique began. Maybe it is began with the idea of taking a deep breath and counting to ten. Maybe it is more like the countdown before a race. But to be honest, I don’t really understand this approach. If the goal is to get a certain response, whether it is getting a group to be quiet or a child to be obedient, is this really the best way?
I have watched children in response to their parents. They push the limits as far as they can. They wait for the very last moment, and then respond. But if they are pushing the limits like this, why is a 3 count needed? Why don’t they just respond immediately? Is it possible that they know how far love will be extended and so they go right up to the line?
Without getting into a discourse on whether or not this is the best parenting technique to use when disciplining a child (which I don’t believe it is…a child should be obedient right away), think about this in relationship to God. Does God count to three when dealing with his children?
We know that God certainly has plenty of opportunities to count to three when dealing with us. We tend to stray from his commands quite often. So, it is not that God has the lack of opportunity to administer the three-count, but does he do it?
There are two truths about God that should be understood in considering this question: God’s love and God’s justice.
Our God is love. He loves us not because of us, but because of Him. He loves us tenderly. He cares for us as a child cares for an infant. He loves us unconditionally. He does not wait for us to get our lives all fixed up…He just loves us. He loves us sacrificially. He demonstrated His love for us by dying for us, while we were still sinners. And this is how we know love, Jesus laid down his life for us. He loves us more than we can fathom.
Our God is just. He is completely fair and righteous in all of his dealings. He will not let the guilty go unpunished. When a wrong has been committed, he will not turn the other way and ignore it. Ultimately, consequences will come.
It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:26)
How do these two attributes of God work together in perfect harmony? Through the person of Jesus Christ. In His tender, unconditional, and sacrificial love for us, God, in the person of Jesus, laid down His life for us. He made it possible for God to be just. Our sin had to be punished. A payment for the crime had to be made. Jesus paid the price for us. He not only made it possible for God to be just, He was the one who was the justifier.
Does God count to three when dealing with His children? God is certainly more patient with us than we deserve. God loves us more than we can fathom. And yet God is just in all of his dealings.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. (Psalm 103:13)
God’s love for me compels me to love and obey him. We love because he first loved us. I don’t want to be that child that waits until his mom or dad gets to 2 and 7/8 before I respond. I want to respond right away.