At any moment in life we have the option to choose an attitude of gratitude, a posture of grace, a commitment to joy.
~Tim Hansel
If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Benny is a man who simply loves and seeks G_d. He does not see my Jesus the way that i see Him. He respects Him, but does not worship Him (yet). But love G_d he does, so we have had oceans to talk about, and rivers of life to navigate. Benny is, what some might call, a stereotypical, devout Jew. His beard and glasses and yarmulke fit nicely in the two-sided kosher kitchen wherein we visit.
Anyway, one day after a long day of touring the factory we were building, we went to his home. Benny flopped down in the chair at their big dining room table… And suddenly there is this scream of joy from a level below in the house. A little elfin girl, about four, comes absolutely barrelling into the presence of her father. She is absolutely overcome with joy! And she screams “Abba! Abba! ABBA*!!!!” as she leaps into his arms. There was not one iota of hesitation in this girl’s form or countenance or character or behavior as she flew into the embrace of her daddy.
i have never been the same after that moment.
For, also in that gorgeous moment, i saw a good dad do what good dad’s do. He took the incoming missile of a girl full force, and his only responses was to rock back to the impact and wrap his arms around the girl and smile and welcome her fully.
Then it got better.
He just looked up at me with a goofy, loving grin – glasses and yarmulke askew from the impact – and just held that little girl while he looked at me. And i was done… It was the most perfect picture of our Father’s Love and acceptance for us that i could ever experience in this life. It was moments like this and others that G_d used to convince me that we are deeply and abidingly Loved by Him.
And even as this writer went through some exceedingly tough years, i never doubted that this One who had made me, Loved me bigger than i could even imagine. And as He brought me to wholeness and realness over the years, i began to take on this attitude of childlike stubbornness about a few very important axioms about G_d.
> He is really big.
> He is really strong.
> He is REALLY Loving.
> He really cares about me and my problems more than i do.
And as this obstinate attitude grows in me, it has yielded two pieces of the same fruit in my life. i am beginning to Love Him back more and more each day. And i am beginning to Love other people in ways both profound and real.
In coming to Love Him, i know fully that i can trust Him. i can obey Him. Because anything He wants to do to me, or through me has ever and always proven Him better than i could ever imagine Him being before. He is a very good Dad. Very, very good indeed.
So, yeah, guys like this fool rub some of ya’ll the wrong way sometimes. And that is OK. Because the wounds of a true friend are faithful. The impact of our points are used to lance the festering, painful wounds of the past in others. Our incorrigible cheerfulness, then, is used as the cleansing balm and an aid in the healing process.
Can this fool rub a little harder? Run into His arms tonight. Run just like that little Israeli girl who simply flew into her daddy’s arms – KNOWING – that that was the only place she wanted to be AND that there was no way on the planet that her daddy was going to reject her.
Trust Him. He’s got this. Really.
*Daddy! in Hebrew and Aramaic.
