To me, this sums up God : I am walking with my 6-year-old son up the road to school. He places his chubby , puppy warm hand in mine and talks to me about firemen and Lego emergency vehicles. He chuckles as he sees a friend up ahead and they swap stories about what they had for breakfast as if it was the most fun you could have in the world.
My son has innocence, faith and hope on his side. Even when the world seems cruel to me - when I am full of pain, like a cornered tiger - I am able to warm myself in his hope. And you know what else? He trusts me. I have three kids and they all have this ‘it can only be God-given’ trust in me. I don’t always believe in myself, but they believe in me. They are not worried about what car I drive, where I went to school, if I have gained a couple of pounds, or if my career is on track – they just love me. I am theirs.
They snuggle up to me like kittens, so you cannot tell where the one ends and the other begins. They bring with them the reality of God. The innocence, the peace, the wonder, the joy. The 'I cannot go to bed, there is too much still to enjoy' love of life. The simple belief, the trust, the faith and the miracle of God.
Yes, I know that this innocence is a precious jewel amongst master criminals on this planet. If I could, I would gather up all the children who fight a daily battle against poverty, mental and physical cruelty, sexual abuse, illness and death. I would gather them under my wings as a mother hen gathers her chicks. And if I feel like that, how much more must God? He who offers us innocence, trust and love only to see us choose darkness so many times.
Here is the choice we have to make. Do we put our care worn, sometimes cynical, bruised hand in God’s? Can we remember what it is like to allow ourselves to trust and to have faith? Can we love Him – who is Love? Believe in Him – who is without guile? Hope in Him – who is all light? Is this our God?
Directions to Heaven
Wherever the road has taken you, He is with you. He knows what it is like to have your innocence robbed and the life crushed out of you. His bloodstained cross stands between us and that darkness. And He offers life. Life that cannot be stolen, love that cannot be lost or betrayed. Love, so you cannot tell where the one ends and the other begins.
"Jesus is God spelling Himself out in language that men can understand." S.D. Gordon - not an ordained minister, not an academic. A plain man, who put his hand in God’s.
He believes in you.