“What more could I have done for my vineyard, that I have not already done? When I expected sweet grapes , why did my vineyard give me bitter grapes?” Isaiah 5:4 NLT
A question that many parents ask themselves – what more could I (we) have done for our children? Why has one child chosen to follow the Lord and the other not? After all, they all grew up in the same home and had the same advantages necessary for their growth in holiness, yet not all used those advantages correctly.
“Now let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will tear down its hedges and let it be destroyed. I will break down its walls and let the animals trample it.” Isaiah 5:5 NLT
The Lord provides a great example in how to respond to a “bitter grape”. He graciously warns them beforehand (I will tell you) that they may have the space (taking away the hedge) and encouragement to repent, and so to prevent the threatened miseries.
Just as the Lord did abandon his children, so we should not abandon ours. Our job as a parent does not end until our life ends. Let us then bring forth fruit with patience, so that in the end an everlasting life will be obtained.
Lock Your Wings 
Good thoughts.
This stood out for me: “They take bribes to let the wicked go free, and they punish the innocent.”
Isaiah 5:23 NLT
Maybe it’s all the crime dramas we watch but if reality is anything like the shows we watch, there is no true justice on this side of heaven. We are flawed humans and self-serving. Never thinking of the lasting consequences of disobedience. One day every decision we make will need to be accounted for.
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