by jimwalton » Mon May 11, 2015 2:35 pm
It's not a reflection on him, but on you. The Bible says we've all be lied to, and we fell for it, by choice, to the point where we've blinded ourselves to the truth so that we can't see it any more because we don't *want* to see it any more.
Let me make up an analogy, even though all analogies fall short. Bill and Amy used to be married, but they had a falling out and got divorced. Bill was so angry that he worked himself into a frenzy of hatred and bitterness. Amy wanted the marriage, but it just wasn't working out, so she let Bill divorce her. The son went to live with Bill, and the daughter went to live with Amy. As the following months went by, every reminder of Amy made Bill hate her more. He would rant to his son about how awful she was, and what a jerk. Amy was missing Bill (though didn't miss the fighting), and often told her daughter what a good guy Bill was, but that it just didn't work out, and she wished they were back together. She especially missed her son. She would write him cards, but whenever Bill saw them, he expressed his hatred and anger, and he and the son burned them. Amy tried to call, but the son refused to answer. She would send him gifts, but the son would throw them out.
By your statement above, since the son now seems incapable of recognizing his mother, it doesn't speak very highly of her. Hm. I don't get that.
Let me try another story. Suppose you are the treasured pet in a home where the owner loves you more than anything else, and takes care of you with every resource he has. But you choose to run away, because you think life might be more exciting "out there," and you run so far you get lost and don't know where you are. Your owner looks for you every day, but you are too far away from him because you keep running. Let's say, for the sake of the story, you were pregnant and had baby-whatevers. Those babies are born "lost" also, never knowing the owner who loved them. Time passes. In the story, then, the owner sends his son to find any descendants of his pet, and when he finds them, he invites them back to the house. But the "lost ones" don't know the owner, don't understand, are afraid, and don't come. Generations of "pets" die "in the woods" by their own choice and fear, apart from the owner's love and care. But any that will come with the son back to the owner's home are rescued from their lostness and from the death they would have experienced. They can choose to stay separated from the owner, or choose to return with the son to the home of love and care.
Does this, by your accusation, not speak very highly of the owner?