Does God Love Us When We Just Stand Around?
08/09/2017 .I have some pretty fantastic I-love-you-ers in my house; people who respond to my daily "I love you" with a clear and easily heard "I love you too."
But there’s a certain teenage boy who lives in my house—my son. Sure, he says,"I love you" right back to me, but, it's more of a mumbled "uh muh ew" . . . at best. Sometimes it's just "muh ew." Or just "muh." But it doesn't matter. The sincerity is still (kind of) there. And oddly enough, I love the way he says it. It sums up who he is and the stage of life he’s in—in all its awkward man-childness.
And that's not all. I love watching his monster hands open jars for me. I love it when he asks questions about politics or asks what's for dinner or "Is there dessert?" I love seeing him on the field at football practice, spotting him from a distance—just standing there.
Just standing there. Sigh. Watching my kids stand, watching them just be, is a little thing I like to do. Could it be that God also loves it when I stand there and just be—in all my awkward 43-year-old ladyness?
Because when you peel back 43 years of accomplishments and dutiful layers, starting with times I’ve chosen kale over iceburg, patience over rudeness, and Bible over Netflix, we'll find that I do a lot of standing around too . . . among other ordinary, ho-hum, insignificant things; things only a parent might find mesmerizing.
So, is the relationship we have with our children reflective of the one we have with our heavenly Father? It certainly is! Take a look at Jesus after he got baptized; before he dove into ministry, God the Father loved and approved of him, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17 NIV).
Author Alicia Britt Chole puts it this way: "Before Jesus preached one sermon or enlightened one mind, before Jesus healed one body or saved one soul, God sounded his affirmation from above over Jesus' life."
And with God being the ultimate parent who loves us before we ever do anything obedient or charitable, famous or brilliant, he just has to be glued to every single thing we do—both our humany things (walking, sleeping, sandwich-making) AND our super-humany things (forgiving, helping, smile-giving).
Psalm 139:2-3 speaks to how God constantly stares at us: "You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways."