God Who Comes To Us
"They were all filled with awe and praised God. 'A great prophet has appeared among us,' they said. 'God has come to help his people.'" (Luke 7:16 NIV)
A few weeks ago, my younger daughter told me, "I have an idea for a name of God. You know how sometimes people will say, 'I'll meet you halfway?' That's not how God is. He doesn't make us come halfway. You should do a name about that."
I had indeed heard that expression...at its best, a genuine offer of compromise and cooperation. But my daughter is right: this isn't how God is. The God Who Comes To Us meets us where we are. He comes and gets us. He goes the distance. He does all the heavy lifting. In the "if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain 'move' and it will move" equation (Matthew 17:20), our contribution is the mustard seed of faith; His is moving the mountain.
This lopsided imbalance is the most gorgeous kind of grace. It is a grace that left heaven to come get us on earth. It is a grace that climbed a hill and a tree to come get us and bring us to heaven.
When my girls were younger and we were in a busy public place like an amusement park or grocery store, I always told them, "If we get separated and you think you're lost, just stay in one place, and I will come find you."
I believe Abba gives a slightly different version of that directive to His children. He says to us, "If we get separated and you think you're lost, just stay in one place. I do not have to find you: I already know where you are. I always know where you are. I will come to you."
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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!