Born of God

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." John 1:12-13

Read that verse a few times-slowly. Children born of God. When I think of that, when I think about that, I think it's so much more than the "born-again" experience we Christians make it out to be. We get all excited when someone accepts Jesus as their savior, we get excited and happy about it ourselves. We walk around, all excited because we've made a commitment and we're now a Christian. And that's usually about as far as it goes. But this verse really made me pause this morning,because it states right there, plain as day that our relationship with God is so much more than a moment. It's so much more than that of a God and a follower. It's that of a child and parent.

Let's think about that for a minute, because it states volumes. I remember when my daughter was first born, and so many people stopped by to visit us. Often times, these people were people who watched me grow up, or had grown children of their own. Each one of them would hold Abigail and ooh and aah over her, and then tell me to cherish every moment, because they grow so fast- before your eyes and before you know it, and then they're gone and on their own. And while they were correct in telling me to cherish every moment, I have to beg to differ about children just being gone. As long as my children are alive, I am going to be their mom. That is a unique relationship that simply doesn't go away. They can hate me all they want as they go through their running-around years, but that doesn't change the fact that I am still their mother, and no matter what they do, and no matter what happens, I will always love them with all my heart, and I will always pray for them. I don't just stop being mom all the sudden.

God is just like that. He doesn't just stop being God, and he doesn't leave his children. Maybe for a time, his children run around and do their own thing, and maybe for a time, the child cries out about how much they don't want to hear what their father has to say, but you know what? He's always there, ready to listen again, ready to welcome His children back. And He always wants us to be happy, healthy and full of joy.

"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Matthew 7:9-11

God loves us, just as a parent loves their own children. I think about these verses, about the snake and the fish, and I know just how God thinks. Abigail's birthday is coming up, and it could be really easy to just walk down the aisle and throw this and that into the shopping cart, and think that maybe she'll like it. Instead, I take my time. I look for just the gifts that are going to bring her joy, I look out for just that one thing that is going to bring the biggest smile on her face. I don't just pick up and give her random junk. And I know that God is the same way. He doesn't just give us junk, rather, he wants to give us the best of the best, and he wants to dote on us... except that a doting father doesn't just lavish gifts, usually, a doting father also has an excellent relationship with his children. They spend time together, they talk, they go on adventures together- and God wants the exact same with us. God wants to dote on us, and lavish us with the best gifts, but he also wants to spend time with us. He doesn't just want to be a Sunday Daddy, He doesn't just want an hour or two of our time Sunday morning. He wants to be a part of our lives, each and every day.

Because I suspect another thing about God. Just as I miss my children when they are away from me- for even a few hours- God misses us when we're not spending time with Him. He has so much to share with us, but first we need to give Him some of our time. Sometimes, that seems like it's asking an awful lot, I mean, we're all busy people. Except that there will always be more time. Always. We will always have another minute, another hour, another day, another week, and another year. But there will never be another yesterday- we can't go back and change a thing, but we can make changes so that the days ahead are wonderful and full of joy.