I got a good laugh in the other day watching my son play. We were both on the floor, he was trying to put something larger than his head into his mouth. He stopped and gave me a big grin. I then told him that I love him. His eyes narrowed on me like he was trying to understand what I said. After a few moments of holding a glazed, nonplussed stare, his little grin straightened back into his business face and he got back to work, trying to stick his large toy into his mouth.
I couldn’t help but laugh. My 9 month old kid has no clue how much I love him. Some may disagree with this and I’ll meet them in the middle and say he may have an idea of what love is not. He finds a great deal of comfort when I feed him and rock him, but the concepts of sacrifice, and unconditional love are totally beyond him. Even if he could understand my love, how could he get a feel of it’s depth, the lengths I would go, the prices I would pay to protect and provide for him? It’s kinda like him trying to put the large toy into his small mouth. It’s bigger than him- my love is greater.
My laughter then died down to a solemn stare as God reversed the image. What about me? Is this the same way God feels? Am I sidetracked with dumb toys, ignorant of the endless and selfless love God has for me? The problem is that we don’t believe that is the case. We know the Gospel and believe in it, but at the end of the day that is all we hang our hat on. It’s kinda like my son finding comfort in the bottle that sustains him, but what about the love behind the milk he enjoys? We are comfortable enough in our salvation, but what about the loving tenderness that our Father has in-store for us in our daily walk with Him? The kind where He wants to play with us on the floor. Am I pursuing that? Or am I content with my dumb toys? I’ve said on here before that my ultimate prayer for my son is that he has a relationship with God. That he won’t be content with just the security of salvation, but that he will pursue and walk with God. How can I hope that will be true for my son, if I am not modeling the walk for him?
The Golden Feather
OK, bear with me as I switch gears here. I was asked to review a book, a children’s book. I wasn’t really thrilled about writing up a review, but something prompted me to go ahead and take a look. I was pleasantly surprised. In typical fashion, God brought the lesson back to mind through the story, The Golden Feather by David and JJ Heller.
Being a story-teller myself, I can’t pass up a piece of work that reflects our relationship with God. It never fails that I come across something that relates to what God is trying to teach me at the time. This was the case with The Golden Feather.
Now, I realize this is a children’s book, and it could be interpreted any number of ways- shoot interpretation is usually not even necessary; but I thought this book merited a shout out. It goes along the same lines. While our children dream of unicorns, rabbits and fun adventures, we dream of our children. Children may not always be pursuing a relationship with their parents, but their parents are always pursuing them. I want this book on my shelf, not only because it’s a fun read for kids, but as a reminder for myself that God too dreams for His children, even when we run after the distractions in our lives, like winged unicorns. It’s an imperfect example of our relationship with a perfect God. Too deep for a kids book? Maybe. But if anyone asks me, its the simple, childish stories that best reflect what God has in-store for us. Check out the book here if you are interested and share it with your kid. I really think you will enjoy it. Also if you like, there is music video by the same artist that accompanies this book.
Be mindful of the love God has for all of His children and challenge yourself to always look for it. It doesn’t have to be a kid’s book, it could be scenic overlook, a new song, or just play time on your living room floor.
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