One of the most famous composers had a rebellious son who used to come in late at night after his mother and father had gone to bed. And before going to his own room, this rebellious son would go to his father's piano and slowly, spitefully… and loudly would play a simple scale, all but the final note. He would play, "Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti…" and then he wouldn't strike that final "Do." Then leaving the scale unfinished, he would retire to his room.

Meanwhile, his father (great musician that he was) hearing the scale minus the final note,… would twist and turn and writhe on his bed, his mind unable to relax because the scale was not finished.

Finally, not able to stand it any longer, the father would crawl out of bed, stumble down the stairs and strike that final note of the scale. Only then could he relax and be at peace.

Now, that's an interesting parable because it reminds me of the way we so often treat God. We play around with some of the notes of faith, but we don't play the full scale…

• We forgive, but not completely.
• We love, but not completely.
• We serve, but not completely.
• We accept Christ, but not completely.
• We live the Christian life-style but not completely.
• We commit our lives to God, but not completely.

But then, even when we treat God shabbily, in his infinite patience and amazing grace, he continues to reach out and play the last note and love us.