Coming To The Father

Admitting we are wrong is an incredibly hard thing to do. And when we are in the presence of someone who is powerful and can change the course of our life based upon our being right or wrong, it can become even harder to be honest. Consider this scene in the Oval Office from the film 2012. The government’s top geophysicist, Dr. Adrian Helmsley, is admitting to the president that his timetable for global destruction was just a wee bit off, and they have only hours to save anyone they can. The president stops him and asks, “But didn’t you tell me we had months?” “Yes, I did,” Dr. Helmsley replies. “But I was wrong.” The president looks at his chief of staff. “Do you know how many times I’ve heard those words—‘I was wrong’—in this office?” “No, sir,” the man replies. “Zero,” says the president. “Zero” (2012, directed by Roland Emmerich [Columbia Pictures, 2009]). But we can admit to God when we are wrong. We can be honest with him. He is not like a leader of whom we must live in fear. Approaching his throne with the confidence of a child approaching their unconditionally loving father, we can expect grace and mercy in our time of need—even when that time of need is the result of our own poor choices (Luke 15:12; Hebrews 4:16).