Zach looked up at me with
puppy dog eyes, with one of those alligator tear drops threatening to spill
down his cheek. He was disappointed. Something hadn’t gone his way. Someone
left him out. Like an unsuspecting helium balloon flying high on expectations,
a tiny pin hole had let all the air escape and finally landed flat on the
floor. That was my little boy. He wasn’t trying to manipulate circumstances or
get someone in trouble – this time anyway – he was just deflated. Coming to his
Mom, he simply crawled up in my lap, just needing to be held. As I wrapped him
in my arms and dried his tears, I whispered, “I love you, Zach.” “I love you
too,” he replied.
I thought of my Father in
Heaven. I thought of the song I heard as a child and also sung to my children…
“Jesus loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to Him belong
They are weak, but He is STRONG.
Yes, Jesus loves ME
Yes, Jesus love me
Yes, Jesus love me
The Bible tells me so”
Do you really know
Jesus loves you? When life deflates your balloon and you look up to Heaven with
tears pooling up, about to break loose, what image do you have of the “man
upstairs”? Do you picture someone standing tall, hands on hip, looking at a
record of all you faults and failures? Or do you see a Fatherly figure sitting
on an oversized cozy couch, scooting over to make room for you to sit down?
I want to tell you – to free
you – that God is not looking down on us with anger anymore. A major event in
history changed all that. When Jesus Christ hung on that cross, all the sin
that ever was committed, could ever be committed and would ever be committed
was laid upon Him. Have you ever felt
the weight of something you did that was wrong? Remember how heavy it was?
Imagine the weight of every sin of every person. Jesus bore all that, including
my own, on that tree. He died with it, and rose again, without it!
Now, because of that, the
God, who we saw in Old Testament times striking down people who mis-touched
the Alter of the Lord or didn’t circumcise their son on the 8th day,
is not angry anymore. His wrath – his requirements - have been fully satisfied! Satisfied like a
starving man at a Thanksgiving feast who never wants to eat again. There’s not
another act that can satisfy God more than what’s already been done in Jesus
Christ.
We are only left with a
choice: Will we come to Him or not? He will not force or make us. Like that
Thanksgiving meal you just show up to, He’s provided it all, down to the gravy
and place settings. We only have to be
humble enough to come to the door, empty handed, take a chair, sit down and
partake of the incredible gift laid out for us. A gift of eternal life.
I saw a crescent moon the
other evening that was upside down – lying horizontal instead of vertical. It
looked like a smile from a Cheshire cat like on Alice in Wonderland. As I
looked at this great light illuminating the night sky, it’s as if the God of
the Universe reminded me – He’s not mad at me, because I’ve accepted the Cross.
He loves me. Greatly. He prays for me. He longs for me to come to Him and call
Him “Daddy”.
He longs for you to do the
same. He’s there when life’s joys are at their highest and when life’s
disappointments leave you deflated.
Matthew
7:9-11
“Which
of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a
fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to
give good gifts to you children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give
good gifts to those who ask Him!”
Putting it In Our Own Words,
~Julie
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