Prom Night

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left. Hebrews 10:26 (NIV)

Last Saturday was the Senior Prom. After pricing tuxedo rentals, youngest son decided he would just go to Goodwill and buy a sport coat. Instead, I offered to get him a nice black suit that he could have for the future. We went to Burlington Coat Factory where the prices were great, but I wasn’t sure what size he wore or how to make sure it fit. We were blessed to find an elderly man was working in the men’s department. It was obvious that at some point in his life, he had worked in a very nice men’s store. He was so good at his job that he managed to find a suit that fit perfectly so only the pants had to be hemmed. Then, he helped youngest son pick out a tuxedo shirt and belt. Getting the suit was the easy part. We had to hunt all over town for a cummerbund and bow tie to match his girlfriend’s dress, order a corsage and boutonnière and get the prom tickets. Paying for the big event set me back quite a bit, but you only go to the senior prom once in your life. So, I was really irritated when prom night arrived, and youngest son refused to let me take his picture. He looked very handsome and after all I bought, surely I deserved one lousy picture. After much badgering, this is what I got. You can lead a man to the camera, but you can’t make him smile. I asked him when he would be home. He hedged around and never answered me, but I noticed a chance of clothes in his car. At 3:15 in the morning, he called and woke me from a sound sleep to tell me he was at his friend’s house and was too tired to drive home. His friend’s mom was fixing him a bed so he could sleep over there. Now I had a dilemma. I knew he wasn’t with his girlfriend because her parents are very strict and she had to be home by 1:00. Should I make him come home, too, and take the chance of him falling asleep and wrecking his car or let him stay over? I let him stay, but we had a big talk when he got home the next day. I think he thought it better to ask forgiveness than permission, but I told him next time I would rather know in advance than be woken up and lay in bed for an hour trying to go back to sleep. He promised he would do better the next time. It made me think of this verse. Sometimes, we take God’s grace for granted. We ignore God’s plan for us and deliberately sin knowing that He will forgive us when we ask. But, when we do that, it is like thumbing our noses at Christ’s sacrifice for us. God has done so much for you. Be obedient. And smile while you do so.