Toddlers can be a
handful. I know on Sunday mornings
(I help in the nursery for the church I attend), many of them don’t want their
parents to leave and have a fit when they do. Most of them settle down after a few minutes or with something
to distract them. On the other hand there are some that come in the nursery
with smiles on their faces. They
are ready to play and couldn’t care less if their parents left them there or
not.
One of favorite
parts of helping in the nursery is at the end. Not because “I’m finally done” but because of the reactions
of all the kids. All the kids,
regardless of whether or not they are happy when they arrive, have the same
reaction when their parents come back at the end of the service. They aren’t just happy. They are more than happy; they are
ecstatic. The look on their faces
is priceless. When you say “(Insert
name) look who’s here.” They
turn towards the door and you can see their entire face light up with a joy to
great for words.
This is what we
should expect though, isn’t it?
I’m not a parent yet (although I hope to be one day), but a bond between
a parent and a child is one of the strongest bonds I know. A mother and father feed, clothe,
cradle, and love a baby. They are
with the child as he or she grows and learns to walk, to read, to sing. If the child messes up, still they love
him or her. As the child faces
hardships at school with friends or struggles with an assignment a parent
supports them and shows them unconditional love. Even after the child is no longer a child but grown up,
married, and with children of their own, the parent-child bond lives on.
We expect this of
our earthly parents, but do we expect this of our Heavenly Father? If we did would we ever doubt Him? I have problems with trust. I think of myself as a trusting person
but in reality, I’m not. I don’t trust
others in a group to do their share.
I don’t trust others to keep their word, because I’ve had too many
people make a promise or set up a time to get together only to break it or
cancel later on. I question God’s
plan for my life and try to take control of it myself. Because if I’m in control then I can’t
get hurt. If I’m in control then
no one else has the power to break that promise. But if our earthly parents love us with such a complete love
then how much more does God love us?
God keeps his promises. He
doesn’t want to see us hurting or broken, but He asks for trust.
Matthew 7:25-34
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about
your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear…
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns,
and yet your heavenly father feeds them.
Are you not much more valuable then they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the filed
grow. They do not labor or spin…If
that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and
tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of
little faith? So do not worry,
saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?...But
seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well. Therefore do
not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its
own.”
The Bible is
God’s love letter to us. He is
telling us that He will always love us wholeheartedly, unlimitedly. God provides for us; He gives us food
and clothes. He cradles and
comforts us when life gets too hard to bear. When we mess up, because we all will, He will still be there
holding out His hand and welcoming us back. He loved us enough to send His son and watch him die. I can’t even grasp this. I would give my life for my (not yet
existent) children, but the other way around? Sacrifice my child for someone who has hurt me? But this is exactly what God did.
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own
love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
I don’t know what
heaven will be like, but I do know that I’ll be with my Savior. I don’t know how I’ll act or what I do
when I see Jesus face to face, but I hope the expression on my face shows the
same radiant expression that all the kids in the nursery have when they see
their parents. When I first see
Jesus I want to be filled with a child-like joy that goes beyond words.
