What's He to you?

Tonight was one of those nights I couldn’t wait to climb in bed and shut my eyes.  But after lying there for an hour, my brain working in overdrive, jumbled thoughts running in circles, and (to be quite honest… because, hey, it’s my blog) a sort of sad heart, I prayed over and over and over again, “Please, Lord, clear my head of this mess so I can SLEEP!”

That prayer went unanswered, so here I am.  We’ll see where those thoughts take me.

I have had this problem lately where He'll speak something into my spirit that I feel I need to share.  But if I don’t share it right then… POOF!  It’s gone.  So I won’t procrastinate on this one.

To me, one of the best parts of summertime is watermelon.  Would you agree?  I don’t know about you, but I tend to be picky about my watermelon (and most all fruit, for that matter).  I’ll stand over the bin in Walmart for 5 minutes, picking through to find the prettiest, most perfectly round watermelon. 

Aren’t you so glad that’s not how Jesus treats us?  He doesn’t stand over the bin saying, “Nah, I don’t want that one; it’s too dirty.  Nope, not that one; it’s got too many bruises.  That one is so ugly on the outside, there’s no way it’s nice and juicy on the inside.”

He doesn’t care about our bruises.  Our dirt.  Our stains.  Our inconsistencies.  He accepts us just the way we are.  He made us in His image, for crying out loud.  Hopefully, we haven’t let our bruises (because we all have them) affect our heart.  Hopefully our bruises haven’t turned us into bitter Christians.  But even if our “issues” HAVE affected our fruit, he still lovingly allows us into His arms.

About a week ago, I started reading a new devotional that was suggested by a friend.  It’s called “Out of the Spin Cycle” by Jen Hatmaker.  WOW.  I am loving it.  I can’t go a day without reading.  And every single chapter has something specifically for me.  I swear, it’s like she’s in my head.  It’s a great read for all mommies. 

Yesterday, the chapter I read dealt with how we identify Jesus.  She states that we tend to identify Jesus with our “personal heroes, legends, and stories – as well as with our own parents, pastors, and leaders.  Harsh, compassionate, impossible to please, legalistic, kind, unfaithful, trustworthy, wrathful… we assign Jesus the labels we’ve known.  You and I have already done this.  As adults, we are finding our conclusions to be right or wrong, enjoying God’s true character or unlearning what we have misjudged.”

She goes on to mention the key point.  Our children are in the process of learning WHO Christ is.  They assign Jesus an identity according to the “spirit of their homes and the language of their parents.”  Whose job is it to help them decide who Jesus is?  It’s ours!

Jesus is all knowing.

Jesus is mighty.

Jesus is powerful.

Jesus heals.

Jesus loves.

That’s my personal favorite.  Who do my children say Jesus is?  Most of all, I want them to know that He is full of love.  Unconditional love.

One Sunday morning a few weeks ago, we were getting ready to walk out the door for church (literally had already set the alarm and had one foot on the first step) when Jase looks at me with tears in his eyes, cup in hand, and a big fat tea stain right down the front of his shirt.  So what did I do?  I came a tad unglued.  (Don’t judge… we all do it.  I admit my faults, and it’s not something I’m proud of.)  Sometimes I forget that he’s 6, not 16.  And that’s definitely one thing I’ve prayed a lot about and work on daily.  I have to stop and remind myself that life is full of spilled milk.  There’s just no way around it.  The one and only variable that I can control is MY REACTION to the spilled milk.

The best part of that story, however, is the fact that 5 minutes later, he hugged and kissed me and acted like I was still worthy of the #1 MOM award. 

Yes, I was upset.  Yes, I overreacted.  But did he still love me?  Of course, he did.  I’m his mommy & he will always by my baby.  He loves me unconditionally.  And that’s exactly how our Lord is toward his children.  His love is undeniable, no matter how many times we mess up.  He’ll never turn us away because we’ve become sour, bitter, bruised, or dirty. 

Unreserved.  Unrestricted.  Unlimited.  Unconstrained.  All out.  Complete.  Definite.

So when Jen said, “we must teach our children who Jesus is any way we can.  Assuming they will pick it up from church is irresponsible; there is no other relationship more important for us to nurture.  What good is it if our kids graduate summa cum laude but still think Jesus is angry, irrelevant, judgemental, or unreal?  They must know how he held babies and raised children from the dead.  They have to hear how he was the life of the party and loved the outcasts.  They need to understand he wasn’t killed or caught but that he laid his life down willingly,” and He would do it all again.

One day, someone may ask my children, “Who do you say Jesus is?  What’s He to you?”

It’s my job to make sure they have an answer. 

And my answer is:  Jesus is… unconditional love.

***(This blog post includes excerpts from Jen Hatmaker’s Out of the Spin Cycle: Devotions to Lighten Your Mother Load – Chapter 17 entitled "Tequila Sunrise")

You can purchase the book HERE! and I highly recommend that you do!