My "twins" recently began taking their first steps. I've done this before with the older girls - but as a parent of a new walker, the excitement is fresh. I spend countless hours sitting on the living room floor encouraging Zella and Tirza to walk back and forth between pieces of furniture and myself. As we do dances and yell "hoorays" after each attempt, I wonder if our neighbors can hear the ruckus and are wondering what crazy thing is happening in the Flannery house now.
1 John 3:1 says, "See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!"
While that is comforting, it is no easy inheritance. God is our Father and he loves us. But he expects a lot, too.
In Matthew 5:48 it says, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Yikes! I know how to walk physically but I'm not quite through with the training wheels on Perfection. I think that my life is still like my daughters' teetering steps. I am reluctant to let go of coffee tables and other sturdy things I trust -- to risk the open floor, clumsy, off balance, then ricochet off obstacles into the hands of my Father. I would rather wait until perfection hits and then demonstrate for Him.
Still, he cheers me on. He applauds as I bite my tongue when tempted to gossip, as I make a meal for a friend even though I'm tired. No matter how insignificant the gain, he cheers. Even when I trip and fall (suppose I explode in frustration and impatience): In those moments my Father picks me up, dusts me off and says, "Let's try that again."
My favorite quote is by a Christian writer named George MacDonald. "God is easy to please, but hard to satisfy." While God the Father is delighted in every stumbling step we take, He loves us enough to keep us practicing. Would we be good parents if we were satisfied with toddling? Would God be a good God? We all desire for our children to grow into confident, sturdy and unstumbling strides.
Listen today for God's "Hooray!" He calls us his children and He has all the time in the world so let's keep practicing.
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