I John 4:16 “And so we know and rely on the love God has for
us.”
We’ve all had “love” given and taken away from us. Leaving us
wary of trusting anyone to truly love us.
So we hold a piece of ourselves back, keeping an exit strategy open for
when this love fails us, again.
But Jesus says “There is no fear in love. But perfect love
drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is
not made perfect in love.” I John 4:18
So the world, and the Church, are full of people who are
holding back, afraid to “put all their eggs in one basket”. What are we afraid
of? That God will play “bait & switch” with his kids? He shows us in the
Bible that everyone who came to Jesus received their healing, but I’m praying
for Diane and Chris and Cindy and Grammie and Tia and Allen, and prayed much
for my friend, Linda Kelly – but so far none are cancer free, except Linda who
is with Jesus now. Can I trust you to do
what you said you would do?
What are we afraid of?
That God is like a game show host, giving us the option to choose door
#1, door #2 or door #3, and one of them is a joke, one is a lesser choice, and
one is what we actually need and want desperately – like it all depends on me –
my choices – and if I choose wrong, then…
I met Jimmy in the summer of 1972. Then I went back to college, and we got to
know each other thru letters and phone calls, some face to face time over
Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. I
went away on a mission trip to France the summer of 1973, so we only had a few
weeks together in NJ before and after my trip, and then I was back to college
for my senior year. I was an insecure
young woman, wary in love – burned before – and never quite sure that Jimmy
would be there for me. The days when he
called, or I received a letter of package were great. But in between those days, I would doubt
whether he really loved me. Then I came home for Christmas break, and Jimmy put
a diamond engagement ring on my finger.
I went back to school changed.
Days between letters and phone calls were no longer a problem for
me. I would just gaze at the sparkling
jewel - on MY finger – and know that I
was loved, that I belonged to someone.
We got married in June of 1974. I continued to grow in trust and love with
Jimmy, although I challenged him from time to time. My parents’ divorce, after 17 years of
marriage, had marked me with fear. One
day as I wept in fear after a disagreement we’d had, Jimmy placed his hands on
my shoulders and looking me in the eye said “I am not your father. I’m not going anywhere. I will always, always, always love you.”
Since that time he has continued to remind me of that promise, signing his
cards on birthdays and holidays, “love always, always, always, Jim”.
Despite
all of that, the clincher for me was when we passed our 17th year of
marriage, and I audibly sighed “Whew! We made it!” I have learned over the
years to rely on Jimmy’s love. And it’s a picture of the Father’s love for me.
Anytime either of us has something we might initially not want
to share with the other, we push past that initial reaction and run to tell the
secret. “I was angry with you…” “I know that I hurt you when I…”
So now I have learned to do this with the Father. “Daddy, my friend, Linda Kelly has died!” And
his arms open and beckon me to come and lean upon him and let his heart comfort
me when I don’t understand.
“Daddy, Diane is not doing well, although I have prayed for
her!” And he says “come here and let me hold you and remind you who I am.”
“Daddy, what if I choose the wrong door?” And he says “Look at me! It’s me! Your
biggest fan! If you ask me for bread, will I give you a rock?”
So everything I need to go on, even when, especially when I
don’t understand, comes from knowing “I am loved by the Father! I am loved by
the Father!”
“Abba, I belong to you.
You
came running down my prodigal road. You
came running with a ring and a robe.
Grace the collision
on my way back home
With
the arms of a Father who won’t let go.” (Jonathan David Helser, Melissa Helser)
The fruit of the Spirit is love, but you can’t give away what
you don’t have.
1 John 4:19: “We love
because he first loved us.”
So come on, climb with me back up on his lap and get some. You’ll
get so filled up there that you’ll leak the love like a golden stream of living
water wherever you go. It’s a fruit, a
natural result, of being with Daddy, a fruit of his Spirit.
Are all my questions answered?
No.
Do kisses really heal boo boos?
No, but the
inner wounds are healed as I lean hard and heavy, with all my weight, “know and
rely” on his love for me. You can say
you believe the chair will hold you, but until you sit in it, let all your
weight rest in it, you aren’t truly relying on that chair. God says, “It’s ok. You can trust me with this one. I will always, always, always love you.”
