Don't give up on your rebellious child.
There are certain things about life that, for the most part, seem like they have to be experienced to be learned and fully appreciated. Relationships are certainly one of those examples.
As a child, I needed to learn what it means to be obedient to my superiors. As I grew a little bit older, I learned more about self-control and the nature of my relationship with myself. When I started dating and eventually got married, I learned a lot about what it means to think about the needs of someone else. Then, when I became a father, I learned more about sacrificial and unconditional love than ever before.
Becoming a father has also helped me understand certain aspects of God’s nature that weren’t quite as clear to me during earlier seasons of life. When I read portions of God’s word that speak of His love for His children, even though they may hurt Him, speak ill of Him, or rebel against Him, that makes more sense to me now than it did when I was a child.
God’s patience with me, as I have been gradually growing as a man of God, has also taught me more about the importance of being patient with my own children. He has given me time to grow, and He didn’t give up on me too soon. I’m called to love the people God has brought into my life with patience that resembles His.
In the eleventh chapter of the book of Hosea, God speaks of Israel as His child. He loved them, cared for them, and provided for them, but they tested His patience over and over. How did God respond? Did He give up on them, or did He hold out hope for a future day of restoration?
“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” (Hosea 11:1)
An interesting statement is made at the start of Hosea 11. It’s a statement that has spiritual significance on at least two fronts. It’s certainly true that during the days of the Exodus, the Lord, who loved Israel, called them out of Egypt and raised up Moses to lead them toward the Promised Land.
This verse has even greater spiritual significance when we observe the earthly ministry of Jesus as it was recorded in Matthew’s gospel. The Holy Spirit inspired Matthew to quote from this passage to make it clear that it found its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus.
And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Matthew 2:14-15)
The history of the people of Israel is one of God’s miraculous provision and kindness, followed by their stubbornness and rejection. They rejected Jesus when He and His disciples proclaimed the gospel of salvation among them. Likewise, they rejected the prophets who came before them, preparing the way for the Messiah. When given the opportunity to worship the true and living God, they worshipped false gods instead.
“The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols. 3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them.” (Hosea 11:2-3)
Yet even though the people of Israel continue to do this, the Lord refuses to give up on them. His love for them remains, just as a parent continues to love a stubborn child. Many of us can testify to the love we were shown in our seasons of rebellion and distance, and there are some of us who are presently working to show patience and love toward children who don’t exactly make it easy. The Lord understands.
“My people are bent on turning away from me, and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all. 8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel?” (Hosea 11:7-8)
I’m grateful that the Lord doesn’t give up on His people. This world is filled with all kinds of temperamental and conditional relationships, but that isn’t how God operates. His love is an unchanging aspect of His perfect nature. He not only shows love, He is the perfection of love, and He wasn’t willing to give up on Ephraim (Israel). There’s a lot we can learn from His example in this passage.
In fact, the day is coming when the kindness and compassion of the Lord will bear visible fruit among the people of Israel. We live during a season when, by and large, they have rejected their Messiah, Jesus Christ. But the day is coming when they will understand that He is God who took on flesh and walked among them. He is coming again to rule and reign. Every knee will bow to Him and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. The Holy Spirit alludes to that day when He speaks through the prophet in Hosea 11:10-11.
“They shall go after the Lord; he will roar like a lion; when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west; 11 they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of Assyria, and I will return them to their homes, declares the Lord.” (Hosea 11:10-11)
I’m grateful for what the Lord reveals about Himself and His heart in this passage. I’m grateful for His example of patience with His rebellious children and holding out genuine hope for their eventual restoration. But this isn’t the only example of God’s patience with a rebellious child that we’re given in Scripture. In fact, the opening chapter of the New Testament book of 1 Timothy grants us an inside glimpse of the restorative work God delights to do in the lives of those He has called unto Himself. There we find the personal testimony of the apostle Paul…
1. God has a plan that he is carrying out to the point of completion.
“I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service,” (1 Timothy 1:12)
The book of 1 Timothy is one of the “pastoral epistles.” It’s a book filled with advice from Paul, a seasoned church leader, to Timothy, a young pastor. Paul wanted to make it clear to Timothy that God was carrying out a divinely orchestrated plan, and Paul was grateful to be part of it. Even though Paul had spent plenty of years rejecting Jesus and working against Him, the Lord was graciously willing to use Paul’s life for noble purposes.
2. You don’t have to remain who or how you once were.
“though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,” (1 Timothy 1:13)
Hosea speaks of Israel as a people who blasphemed the Lord’s name, worshipped idols, and opposed that which was holy. In many respects, Paul describes his early life in similar terms. He calls himself a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent of God’s people and the spread of the gospel.
But please notice a key word Paul uses as he describes himself in such terms. Paul uses the word “formerly.” What he was saying was that in Jesus, we are made a new creation. We don’t have to remain who or how we once were.
3. The grace and mercy of Jesus are powerful forces.
“and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 1:14)
There are people in this world that I have given all the advice I know how to give, and even though that advice was good and solid, it didn’t change their hearts or behaviors. Maybe you’ve experienced something similar with a child, friend, spouse, or other family member. Thankfully, there’s a power that’s greater than our best counsel.
The grace and mercy of Jesus change people in miraculous ways. I would contend that for a person to experience true and lasting change, that change cannot take place apart from the intervention of His grace. Pray for the grace and mercy of Christ to miraculously intervene in the lives of those who may be headed in an unwise or blasphemous direction.
4. Even the worst sinner can be rescued and transformed.
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:15-16)
Who is the worst person you know? Odds are, you might be able to answer that question rather quickly. During a particularly rebellious season of my childhood, my mother went to a parent-teachers’ conference at our school and one of my teachers told my mother, “Your son is the worst student I have ever had in this class.” I’m certain my mother wasn’t thrilled to hear that said of her child, but based on my behavior, I feel pretty confident that statement was true.
During Paul’s generation, there were many people who remembered him from his earlier days that thought of him as one of the worst people they had ever met. Paul even said of himself that he was the foremost of sinners who needed the gift of salvation through Jesus.
Having received that gift from Jesus, Paul believed that the transformation Jesus accomplished within him would serve as an example to others who would likewise believe in Jesus for eternal life.
5. God deserves the glory for the miraculous work He accomplishes in the lives of lost people.
“To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17)
When God transforms Israel and brings them back to Him, He alone will deserve the glory for that miraculous act. He deserves the glory for the transformation that took place in Paul’s life, in my life, and in your life. And as our minds think about some of the rebellious children in this world who at present are trying to run from God instead of running toward Him, He will receive the glory for their repentance and transformation as well.
If God can transform idolatrous Israel, blasphemous Paul, rebellious me, and faithless you, He can do the same for the rebels that we love as well. Never stop praying for the miraculous intervention of Christ’s mercy and grace in their lives. In God’s perfect timing, you’ll witness the answer to your prayers.
© John Stange, 2025