Reflection

I want to share God's story, God's heart, His character. But I'm just so inadequate. How can a finite being display incredible infinte God? I ask Him what to write, how to tell His story and shudder at messing up. Then I sense Him laugh. A friendly I like you laugh.

I guess it is pretty arrogant of me to think I can mess something up beyond God's ability to fix. But even seeing my arrogance, He isn't disappointed. He laughs. A friendly laugh.

He wrote my story.
He wrote my boys incredible stories. Their story of being embraced and enfolded, adopted. 
 
Wrote baby Amelia's story. And Jesse and Rhonda's story.
After 3 failed placements, God brings Amelia. After pain comes joy. 

Joy comes in the morning.

I have hope. Not a hope that everything will be ok tomorrow, but a hope that when this life is over, the weeping will stop. The hurt, the pain, gone. Only joy, peace, patience. Not hope that everything will be perfect in this life, but in the next.

Isn't the hope of heaven what gives perseverance, what gives joy in the discouragement. That God has  a purpose and a great ending to the story. A story where He triumphs.

And He wants all to experience that hope.
He offers hope. He offers Life. He offers freedom and joy. But most importantly He offers forgiveness.

The whole point of Christianity is not to become a better person, but to realize we are not perfect and to look to, to turn to Jesus as the only way to be forgiven. To be changed. Our lack of perfection in how we treat people, and lack of love and tact in how we communicate only exposes the fact that we need Jesus, that we are a messed up people.

Dear friend, Christians are not different than anyone else. We dont think we are perfect, we realize how far from it we are. The big difference is that we have made a decison to recieve God's forgiveness and let Jesus' perfection be credited to us. A decision to be seen through Jesus' perfection since ours just wont make the cut.

If you've had a bad experience with a Christian that has left you hurt, I'm sorry. Everybody deserves to be treated with dignity, with respect. You deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. Can I ask you to not let that experience keep you from seeing Jesus. His heart toward you is different that what you may have experienced. Please don't let that experience keep you from experiencing Him. Considering Him. Seeing Him.

Through Christ, the Father is longing to embrace you, enfold you, adopt you, make all that He has yours. "God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons."  (Galatians 4:4-5)

"...How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." (Matthew 23:37)

This is how I have seen God's heart this week. A longing to adopt anyone willing into His family.

How have you seen God give a glimpse of His heart this week? Or what is a cool story of Him showing up in your life?