My dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer about 2 weeks ago, and my sister and I enrolled him in hospice care during my visit there. He and my mother are both over 90, both have cancer and are in hospice care but are not yet in pain, and are still roommates in the same care facility. There is no longer any real interaction between them so this isn’t as romantic as it sounds, but they are still living congruent lives. 

Are you a fussy eater? Parents despair of children who will not eat what is served to them, and such children can be malnourished if they get their way. Parents have a greater knowledge of nutrition and the true needs of the child. Do you see a spiritual parallel? Perhaps you don’t like the spiritual food I serve you. There is plenty of spiritual junk food readily available, but if you choose it instead you can become spiritually malnourished. Healthy adults have acquired a taste for food that is good for them. Can you trust me to provide you the proper spiritual nourishment for you until you acquire a taste for it? 

There are few reigning kings in the world today but even so coronations are still big events with pageantry and worldwide media coverage so everyone knows about them. There was an exception to this in ancient Israel with David who had to be fetched from his sheep to be anointed king, and apparently went back to tending them. The only witnesses were his brothers who were resentful. David conducted himself in a kingly manner even though recognition would not come until much later. Are you willing to walk in the fullness of your calling even if no one notices? Do you need a title to serve me? 

Do you make it your permanent and only goal to do everything right? Can you see how this might work against you? Consider the story of the prodigal son. He made a huge mistake in demanding his inheritance and departing from his father’s house for a life of indulgent dissipation. Yet he came to himself and returned to his father’s house to be restored. Consider the older brother in comparison. He did everything right for which he was resentful and at the end of the story is outside his father’s house. The younger son did everything wrong and learned from it. The older son did everything right and did not. If your mistakes cause you to come to yourself and return to me they will have accomplished their purpose.