sheltered

"How often I have deired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing."

(Luke 13:34b)

He knows what it's supposed to be like.  He has love & compassion for them - but for the most part, they've shunned him.  He's waiting to shelter them... comfort them... support them... and surround them with love - just like a mother hen does with her brood of chicks.  But they've refused.  And it pains him.  That's the relationship Jesus had with the people of Jerusalem.

I wonder who Jesus says those words about today?  How many of those close to us (family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, classmates, etc.) fall into this category?  People of infinite worth & value... people whom God has great plans for, if only they'd let him into their lives.  But they haven't.  Or won't.

We have relationships with them.  We can speak a word of hope, encouragement & grace.  We can be an agent of love for them, so they can respond to the eternal longing in their soul.  It's not about manipulation or coercion... it's about connecting with the Savior of the World... the One who loves us all... and wants to shelter us.  All of us.

God's Tattoo

"But Zion said, 'The LORD has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.' Can a nursing woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands..."

(Isaiah 49:14-16)

"I think God has forgotten me." It's a cry many of us have either said, thought or felt before... if we're being honest. When the storms of life overwhelm, it's easy to wonder if we've been abandoned by the Holy One. God knows we feel this way from time to time. So through the prophet Isaiah, God addressed this all-too-human feeling.

God responds by asking of a mom can forget the child she's nursing - as in currently nursing! Of course not!! There's a physical bond... a life-giving connection that's of vital importance to the child (not to mention the fact that a lactating woman also feels physically in her body the state of breastfeeding!). Could it be that God aches to care for us? Can any mother forget her child - a child that she gave birth to, no matter how long ago? Never having been a mother myself, I can't say for sure. But my gut response is: I DON'T THINK SO! God says, "Even if these women DID happen to forget... even if... I WILL NOT FORGET YOU!" Wow.

But God doesn't stop there. God goes on to say that he's inscribed us on the palms of his hands. So, in effect, we are God's tattoo! How cool is that!?!? WE are God's tattoo! I've never had a tattoo personally (and currently have no future plans to get one!)... but whenever I want to make sure that I don't forget something important, I frequently write it on the palms of my hands. People try to offer me paper. "No thanks," I say, "I won't lose my hand!" I know I'll see my palms frequently throughout the day and then remember whatever it was that I didn't want to forget.

God has our names tattooed on the palms of His hands. He will never forget us!

But wait... look a bit closer... are those names on his palms... is that all I see? Oh my God, no!! Those aren't names, but NAIL SCARS on his palms! Scars of love and grace. Scars that remind Him every moment of every day about me... and you... and how much he loves us both.. Wow! Just wow! I'm speechless...

A Parent Remembers...

"Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them."
(Hosea 11:3)

God's words to Israel via Hosea begin in chapter 11 with a parent/child metaphor. "When Israel was a child, I loved him" says the LORD. God remembers teaching His people "how to walk"... holding them "in my arms"... even feeding them (v.3-4). Yet they were unaware of just what that early relationship brought: HEALING!

Any parent can daresay remember similar events in the lives of their children: their birth... learning to crawl, walk & run... first words... games we used to play with them... (and mothers will especially remember feeding times, I imagine!). We remember how we put them to bed when they needed rest... changed them when they were dirty... fed them when they were hungry... took them to the doctor for "well baby checkups" and immunizations... consoled them when they cried. In short, we brought health & healing to them... despite the fact they were too young to really know (& understand) what was happening.

God laments when we "can't remember" the many ways He's cared for & healed us over the years. We are (I am!) so clueless (forgetful?) sometimes. For that, O LORD, forgive me. Thank you for your love for me from the very beginning. It has truly transformed my life. Every once & a while I "get it." Today is one of those days! AMEN.