She was rebellious when she was young.
She couldn't remember how many times she ran away from her parents. She wouldn't see them for weeks and months.
One day, she was sitting atop the stairs of a hotel when her daddy found her. He asked softly, "Anak, do you still love me?"
She was irritated. She moved away stomping her feet. She hopped on a car and looked back at her daddy and saw him exactly how she left him, sitting there, looking confused and sad. As the car took her away, he became a smaller and smaller figure until he vanished from her sight.
Years later she has gotten over the "running away" phase but was still rebellious this time directly against the One who created her. She ran away from Him all her life thinking she didn't need Him in her life.One day, she was sitting in a cafeteria inside a building. She needed to consult a professional regarding an ethical decision that needed to be made. But the man instead explained to her how hopeless she was because of those terrible things she did. She felt fear quickly filling her up like water being poured over a glass.
Fear of hopelessness.
Fear of punishment.
Fear of eternal damnation.
Fear of God.
Tears were welling up.
The man continued.
The cafeteria was noisy and her tears were blurring everything.
But she heard the man say,
"...He died for you while you were still a sinner."
It reminded her of how a loving father sat beside a rebellious daughter atop the stairs of a hotel in the 90's.
But in that cafeteria, with all her sins laid bare on the table, God too asked her what her daddy asked back then.
Except that it was a slightly different question.
"Do you know I still love you?"
