dRobinson

I'm a word boy; I don't usually think in pictures. But last night, as I was praying for a friend, I saw what I was praying about. I saw God, ... sort of. I saw an older man talking with a younger man, but knew it was Jesus and the Father. They were looking down, I assume, at my friend Britt. Britt was not visible, just these two talking about him, and I could overhear parts of their conversation. Jesus would nudge His Father and say, "Abba, did you see the way Britt caught the light with those brush strokes? Wasn't that neat!" And the Father would say, "And did you see that smile when he was talking to his boy Al? That looked like your smile. He takes after you when he smiles like that." Then, "Abba, he really screwed up just then. He's such a knucklehead, but I am so pleased with how quick he was to turn from that and ask you for forgiveness." The Father smiled a big, slow smile and said, "Yeah, that's my boy Britt. I'm especially fond of that one!"  I'd been praying that Britt would be reminded, no, that he would know deep down how precious he is to God. How no matter what, God is especially fond of him. I got a new appreciation for God's fondness, from the book The Shack by William Paul Young. I know God is Holy and cannot abide our sin, and that making a way for us to be forgiven and to know His love was costly to Him. But it was done so that we would know His love,His fondness for us. We are so often knuckleheads, and a lie creeps in that this or that would make us really happy, happier than God does. We believe the lie that God doesn't have our best at heart. Our sinful behavior is real and forgiving it was excruciatingly costly to Jesus. We need to repent, but repentance is not so much about groveling in guilt about the deed -- the bad behavior. But it is turning from it and more importantly, turning to Him and moving into His embrace.  Turning to Jesus, returning to his love, basking in His embrace and believing that the smile on His face and the warmth of His embrace are what is really real, that is living the gospel. My buddy Russell says, "As Christians, we sin,  but that sin is not the truest thing about us." Truer than my sin is the love, the extravagant,  costly love of the Father.  For me, "seeing" that interaction of the Father and Jesus was so refreshing. What started as a prayer for Britt, turned into a blessing for myself. We are knuckleheads, and we do blow it more than we wish, but there is God, sitting there in His Glory, in absolute peace while  watching us. He knows our pain and wounds. He knows where we've been. He knows the rest of our stories and how our stories fit into His larger story. And he loves us. "Did you see that?! Oh I am especially fond of that one."