I was over at my sister’s house, and I witnessed my 17-month-old nephew digging into a bag for gum because his brother had gotten some. When it was taken away from him, he was roaring like a baby dragon. That kid was MAD.
And in a way it was really adorable, but in another way, I felt very sad for him. He doesn’t know that that gum can choke him. He was even eating the wrapper, and he doesn’t know what tragedy could happen. To him, if someone gets something, everyone should get it. That is the way the world works for a toddler. If you spoon-feed him, he should spoon-feed you. And what happened was so incredibly unfair to his toddler sense of justice.
So many of us never got the message that God loves us – the creator of the universe really and truly loves each one of us. If not, we wouldn’t be here. God created us as we are, knowing the mistakes we would make, and doesn’t require of us the constant productivity that the cultures of so many countries demand. We aren’t robots. We are made for connection and meaning.
To explain how doing the right thing and productivity aren’t necessary for God to love us, I’ve often used the baby analogy. What does a baby do to be loved? Poop and complain? Smile too, but only if taken care of. But yet, babies are truly human. All they have is themselves… no productivity, just them. And it is amazing, and we delight in them. God loves us like that.
But I think God also feels sad with us when we suffer, even at the times we are only suffering because we just don’t understand. And that too is a part of love.
Face The Day OK 