Today, Molly has chipped away at my patience, bit by bit. Moaning, grunting, smiling, then crying all day long. I think she's ready to fall asleep, then it continues again. I just shot off a text message to a friend of mine for a quick prayer so I don't lose my mind.
Then it hit me: this is exactly how God sees me.
For a God who is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, I must look pretty silly with my bright ideas and big plans. I must be pretty irritating with my constant sinning, repenting, rinse and repeating. God sees me as I see my baby girl - small, totally dependent, and ignorant to the grand scope of things around her. When I sin, I chip away at the ideal God wishes for me - perfect union. Of course, this is unobtainable since I am neither a perfect nor divine being. So how does that work?
While God hates sin enough to demand death as its penalty, he loved us enough to provide his own son as the solution. For those who "love and trust in Jesus" as we say in Sunday school, sins and debts are forgiven through the voluntary sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross in our stead those many centuries ago. As we are simple humans in a broken, sinful world, how could we not sin? It is in our nature. How unloving would God be to put us in a position he knew we couldn't get out of and demand we get out of it?
Similarly, how can babies restrain themselves from crying? They can't! On the contrary - they can only cry for the first several weeks of their lives as their primary form of communication. How could I expect her to do otherwise?
Enter sin. How sinful of me to not extend the love and patience God has for me to my daughter! It is exactly this sin that pushes me closer to God. As only he provides the solution, only he provides a way to deal with it.In times of great need and despair, run toward God, not away from him. Not only does he have the way out, but you'll get more of him in the process! What could be better? There is nothing.
I am God's fussy baby.
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
24 February 2013
01 February 2013
Multiplication
Kelley and I have been part of a home group at The Village Church for exactly two years. It's been amazing. We've laughed and cried with everyone over births and deaths, and I know I have grown and matured because of everyone in the group.
During this summer and fall, Kelley and I felt like it was time for us to split off and start our own group. The Village calls this "Gospel-centered multiplication" in what I guess amounts to their mission statement. They added that prefix to emphasize how we should "make disciples of all nations," as Jesus tells us in Matthew 28. For a Christian, making disciples must revolve around Jesus. Anything else props up the self and is rooted in sin.
We just had signups this weekend for all the new groups. Kelley and I were pretty excited going in, and perhaps had some last-minute doubts. Would anyone join our group? How many? What if too many are interested? Are we really prepared to lead the spiritual needs of these people? What if we didn't like the people who signed up?
In reality, these questions were meaningless. God had a plan for who would join and how many. He already knew how long the group would last, and whether or not we would succeed in this journey. I think it was a lot easier preparing for the daunting task ahead when focusing on God's plan and abilities instead of my own. Funny how that works.
It turned out great. Signups for home groups at TVC is more like speed dating than anything. There's a bunch of tables lining the hall and the folks looking to signup in a new group just go at it. Find your city, or one nearby, and hit up the leaders until you find something you like. You don't have many conversations because there are so many people there. Instead, you listen as the group leader(s) talk to the few people before them about the quick and easies - meeting time, location, style, kids/no kids, etc. Kelley and I really enjoyed the people we were able to speak with, and we're stoked to get started. It's sad to leave our old group, but we feel really good about moving on in advancing God's kingdom.
Speaking of multiplication, fatherhood is wonderful. It feels so good to see my daughter when I come home each night. She's just to the point now where she can recognize faces. When I come home and she sees me, she smiles real big. It's a feeling that can't be matched.
It's funny thinking about Molly as a real person with thoughts and feelings. So far, she mostly just cries, coos, and sleeps. Once she gets mobile and learns how to talk, I'm sure everything will be so different. I can't wait!
During this summer and fall, Kelley and I felt like it was time for us to split off and start our own group. The Village calls this "Gospel-centered multiplication" in what I guess amounts to their mission statement. They added that prefix to emphasize how we should "make disciples of all nations," as Jesus tells us in Matthew 28. For a Christian, making disciples must revolve around Jesus. Anything else props up the self and is rooted in sin.
We just had signups this weekend for all the new groups. Kelley and I were pretty excited going in, and perhaps had some last-minute doubts. Would anyone join our group? How many? What if too many are interested? Are we really prepared to lead the spiritual needs of these people? What if we didn't like the people who signed up?
In reality, these questions were meaningless. God had a plan for who would join and how many. He already knew how long the group would last, and whether or not we would succeed in this journey. I think it was a lot easier preparing for the daunting task ahead when focusing on God's plan and abilities instead of my own. Funny how that works.
It turned out great. Signups for home groups at TVC is more like speed dating than anything. There's a bunch of tables lining the hall and the folks looking to signup in a new group just go at it. Find your city, or one nearby, and hit up the leaders until you find something you like. You don't have many conversations because there are so many people there. Instead, you listen as the group leader(s) talk to the few people before them about the quick and easies - meeting time, location, style, kids/no kids, etc. Kelley and I really enjoyed the people we were able to speak with, and we're stoked to get started. It's sad to leave our old group, but we feel really good about moving on in advancing God's kingdom.
* * * * *
Speaking of multiplication, fatherhood is wonderful. It feels so good to see my daughter when I come home each night. She's just to the point now where she can recognize faces. When I come home and she sees me, she smiles real big. It's a feeling that can't be matched.
It's funny thinking about Molly as a real person with thoughts and feelings. So far, she mostly just cries, coos, and sleeps. Once she gets mobile and learns how to talk, I'm sure everything will be so different. I can't wait!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)