The Toughest Love of All

Nearing sunset one day, I was sitting on a bench at the pond close to my house watching the birds. A mommy duck was paddling towards the shore with her brood behind her. Midway, one of the ducklings broke out of formation and turned to go the opposite direction.

After taking the remaining ducklings to shore, she turned around to get her prodigal son. Quacking ferociously, she flew up a bit and came down with a huge splash right on top of the wanderer . She quacked some more, but the duckling kept paddling the wrong way. She jumped on him again and then again. I thought the baby might drown, but he kept resurfacing. Finally, having learned his lesson, he followed his mom to shore.

I know a man, I'll call him Carl, who became a Christian while in prison. A young inmate had ratted on some people and Carl heard that three fellow inmates were going to beat him up and perhaps kill him. Carl told one of the guards that they had better move the young guy to another prison. He was to be moved the next day.

Carl went to the three other men and said, “I heard you are going to beat up ____ before he leaves tomorrow. He’s just a young kid, don’t do it.”

“He needs to be taught a lesson,” they replied. They were determined to do it.

Carl became angry and pointed at them, “If you hurt him, I’m going to kill all three of you.” They knew he would carry out his threat, so they left the boy alone.

I thought at first that God would not have wanted him to say those words. But then I remembered Jonah, and how God used him to tell the city of Ninevah that they were going to die because of their evil ways. They repented, and God didn’t have to carry out the sentence. I guess God uses tough love too; like the duck and like Carl.

Many people call out to God when faced with death. Since this is so,perhaps the threat of death is the toughest love of all.