By Tim Ballentine (A special guest of Elisha’s Riddle).
The gospel boldly declares that we are righteous, loved, and flawless in His sight. But what about when we don’t feel or act that way?
Our Christian Church history is filled with wonderful minds. With musicians and artists. Writers. Theologians. Speakers. All of these men and women seek to express and convey to us the God we know in Jesus Christ. We all have our favorites and the spectrum is broad to be sure. From Augustine to Luther and Calvin. From Barth to Bonhoeffer. Mozart. D.C. Talk. Steven Curtis Chapman. Chris Tomlin. T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen and Billy Graham. Flannery O’Connor and John Eldridge. Nick Padovani and Dylan Demarsico…
A couple years ago I was introduced to an all time favorite of mine, Lisa McCourt.
Who?
Yep, Lisa McCourt. You can find her at any bookstore usually sandwiched between the classics. Like Green Eggs and Ham, Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are. Her masterpiece is entitled, “I Love You Stinkyface.” ”
“Let the children come to me,” he has told us. So with the faith of a child, the lens and microcosm for much of how we are, we read:
Mama said, “I love you my wonderful child,” the book opens.
“But I had a question, what if I were a BIG SCARY APE! would you still love me then?”
“If you were a big, scary ape, then I would make your birthday cake out of bananas, and I would tell you ‘I love you my big, scary ape.'”
Abba, Papa says, “I love you my wonderful child!”
But often, too often, I have a question…
“But papa, what if a were a jerk. A bad husband, or father. who drank too much because I’m lonely and afraid most days and I just want to escape, would you still love me then?” What if papa could see behind the “Jesus shield,” and see… me. Messed up me. Perfected forever! But being sanctified me. Drunk me. Lying me. Angry and frustrated me. Fill in the blank me. The me who forgets who I am.
We believe in the blood of the Son covering us always. And in our standing before and with God. Unfortunately, all to oftentimes in the daily routine it doesn’t feel that way. And Yet that changes nothing. The gospel message comes to us by grace, not by our works. So if that question ever comes to you, fill in your blanks. Or fill in your neighbors and enemies blanks and let that soften your heart. Because his response will always be to us from a place of our dad. And us his children.
So here the voice of Papa’s unconditional love: “If you were a jerk. A bad husband or father who drank too much and were lonely and afraid, I would come and be your friend. I would show you my heart and your True identity and compel you to live from it. Place a ring on your finger and shower you with blessing. And I would tell you, I love you, my wonderful child.”
And I love you Papa.