Happy Being Grounded

By Rev. George Borghardt

You did that thing that you did, and you thought you got away with it, but you didn’t. You were late; your parents were there waiting. They read your e-mail and found out that you did that with you-know-who, and they weren’t very pleased at all. You drank that, you smoked that, you did that, and you are sooo busted.

They met, they decided, they ruled. You’re pretty much grounded until the Lord returns. So, now you’re sitting in your room with or without your phone and your iPod, depending upon the ruling of the parental counsel.

What about Jesus? You’re always given to ask that question. Does your faith in Him have anything to say about your sitting in your room? Yes! In fact, how you handle being grounded says as much about your faith and salvation as how you got yourself into the predicament that got you grounded in the first place.

First, who put you in your room? God did. He did through your parents.When you deal with Mom and Dad as a son or daughter, you are dealing with God. That’s the Fourth Commandment. God gave Mom and Dad to you to speak through them.

Yes, your parents sometimes fail to measure up to what God would have them be. They may raise their voices or get mean. They can be too harsh. They can say things just to enrage you. If parents are peeking over your shoulder as you read this, this is where I tell them, “Repent.”

But it’s not your place to tell Mom and Dad where they are wrong when you are the one that did wrong here. You sinned. You failed. You know you did. You did what they told you not to do. When you did that, whether or not there was a Word of God saying, “Thou shalt not go to that party” doesn’t matter. They speak for God. They are the voice of God for you. When you failed them, you failed Him. That’s that Commandment number 4 again, isn’t it?

You see, God’s Law doesn’t care why we do what we do. It doesn’t care about exceptions. It only cares about obedience. We didn’t do what we should do and did do what we were commanded by God not to do. So, leave your explanations behind. They won’t save you.

No, only Jesus saves you from your sins. You don’t hide your sins from Him. Don’t hide them from Mom and Dad. Be completely honest with them. Remember that they are in the place of God for you. Tell them exactly what happened, even the stuff they don’t know that you got away with. Tell them everything. They’ve been around and back again, and you might be surprised how compassionate they can be.

And don’t get distracted by how they found out what you did. It doesn’t matter that you didn’t delete the e-mail, and they read it in the recycling bin. It doesn’t matter that they went through your stuff. If you hadn’t done wrong, if you had been trustworthy, they wouldn’t have had to do that. Set all of that aside. You messed up. You sinned. Confess what you’ve done to them and to Him. Hold nothing back. Empty it all out, and ask for forgiveness.

Forgiveness: that’s where Jesus breaks into the world where we sin and get grounded, where He comes to us as parents and teenagers, and delivers to us what He did for us on the cross.

“I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” Don’t stop until you’re empty and all that you have is “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” That’s where we confess our sins and trust God for mercy in Christ.

You see, being in Christ is no guarantee we’ll live perfect lives. We’ve all messed up, sinned, and fallen short of what God expects of us in His Law. Being a Christian is being washed of what you’ve done wrong, forgiven of the evil you do.

“I forgive you.” That’s Mom and Dad’s word for you. That’s what God has for you. He has forgiveness. He has mercy. He has grace.

That “I forgive you” probably isn’t going to get you out of solitary confinement or your unlimited Xbox time back. You’ve lost that for a while. That’s not what your heavenly Father was after anyway. He wants that “I forgive you” to bring your relationship with your parents and God back to where it should be: centered solely on Jesus.

Your parents forgive you. Cling to that word. It’s God speaking and forgiving through your mom and dad. They forgive you. God forgives you too. Trust that word of forgiveness. And if you are still troubled by what got you thrown into your room, ask Dad to take you to see your pastor. Your pastor will announce to you the Lord’s forgiveness in Holy Absolution. That forgiveness, spoken by God’s called servant, is just as valid and certain as if Christ your dear Lord dealt with you Himself. It’s the same forgiveness that Mom and Dad gave you.The only forgiveness that saves is in Jesus. But, if you need to hear God’s servant forgive you in Jesus’ name, don’t sit there troubled. Hear it from Jesus’ mouth through your pastor.

Then, back to your room you go, but this time forgiven. This time, you are restored to God and to Mom and Dad, freed from what you’ve done.

Long after you’re out of your room on either good behavior or time served, you’ll look back and thank God for being grounded. God saved you from what you were doing. He showed you His grace in Christ Jesus. And He restored you. He really does love you that much in Christ.

Happy being grounded! It’s a gift to be caught but a greater gift to be caught and forgiven.

Rev. George Borghardt III is the Associate/ Youth Pastor at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Conroe,Texas. He also serves as the Conference Executive for Higher Things.