God isn’t putting in charity time, plugging his nose, and loving us because he wants to get social media credit. He isn’t merely a distant aunt that sends us cards on our birthday with well wishes. He doesn’t love us because he has to do it because, well, you know, he’s God and that’s in his job description.
You know that feeling when you feel like an outsider and someone in the inside group befriends you? You’re invited to their house or their event. You spend a weekend at the lake property. You can tell they enjoy you but you don’t want to blow it. You put in your best self because of it, making sure to be smooth and winning and avoiding awkward topics.
God is like that. He is under no obligation to anyone else to be with you. But he wants you. He likes you. And the great thing is that, even when you want to put on your best self—as being with the cool kids always does—he already knows how you aren’t cool and also wants to help you iron all that out so that you become naturally cool. You can’t not be liked by him. And this is what his love is like.
In my work, I’ve found most are uninterested in God because they want nothing to do with a caricature of him. I reject the caricatures too. Wouldn’t it be a shame if the cool kids invited us to the lake house and we turned them down because we mistakenly thought they were fed agents inviting us to prison?
I created “Stories of Jesus for the Modern Family” so we don’t make that mistake. Discount for my blog subscribers.
