After a long day at work  I am  relaxing in front of the TV.  My son saunters into the kitchen and tells me I will probably get a call from his school. The call will say  he missed a class. Well two classes today. He explains without emotion like only a teen boy can. That he spent that time in the nurses office.
Water is my cure all. Especially with a child who was prone to migraines.
No not much.
Well make sure to drink some.
Crisis averted I lean back into the couch. Snatching looks to make sure he is fine.

Later the other side of me showed up. As a single parent you're always a little schizoid. Sometimes mommie. Sometimes daddy. The dad side of me has no questions about health. The dad side is more lawyer than nurse. Think Perry Mason.

So Paul what time did you get sick?
Um humm. So did you go to class and then get a pass to the nurse?
No. I just went?
So you went missing for two hours?
I was on a cot sleeping. I even set my alarm because I didn't want to miss all my classes.
Um mm. My um mm is full of suspicion.
Did the nurse give you a pass back to class?


No.
I didn't see her, but other kids were in there too.
This is the classic grouping tool of the teen. As if the Perry Mason in me cares about what the other kids do. I know it I keep at him long enough I can wear him down. But I am tired and desire sleep not stress.

I think about the laptop I promised him for Christmas. If he's lying should he still get it?  I move on keeping the rest of my investigation a secret. I call the nurse the next day. His alibi seems blown. However she isn't strong in her testimony.  I remember sleeping in the nurses office in high school.  You could hang in there for hours.

Back home I tell him my findings.  He insist he was in the nurses office sleeping. He isn't wavering. I fire off a few more questions and drop it. When there is doubt you don't convict.  Where there is grace there is no punishment.

That leads us to here. Right where you are.  Are you carrying guilt . Do you think God is punishing you for some past sin?

When sickness comes, do you think it's God's little payback. When you wish for a mate and years go by. Do you think it's punishment for the divorce?  What about finances. Do you think you struggle because years ago you made all that money you were selfish. So now God won't give you more?

If I can give grace, and yes a laptop to my son. Me a fallible human. Don't you think God can place His grace on you. 

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.---Romans 3: 23-28

Jesus paid the price for your sins. Where sin is grace abounds. That doesn't make me want to sin more. It make me grateful, so grateful to the one God sent. Every lie, every sinful act, Jesus took my punishment and gave me forgiveness and grace instead.  So No Punishment for Christmas. No punishment at all. While you're giving out gifts. Give some grace too.

Merry Christmas.