PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: GENUINE ACCEPTS US-JUST LIKE THAT!
David Redding, in his little book Jesus Makes Me Laugh, paints a picture of the Faithful Love of God in vivid imagery. Read the words slowly. Picture the scene he portrays so vividly.
“I had a beautiful ram. The poor man next door had a beautiful dog and a small flock of sheep he wanted to improve with my ram. He asked me if he could borrow my ram; in return he would let me have the choice of the litter from his prize dog. That is how I got Teddy, a big, black Scottish shepherd. Teddy was my dog, and he would do anything for me. He waited for me to come home from school. He slept beside me, and when I whistled, he ran to me even if he was eating. At night no one would get within a half a mile of our house without Teddy’s permission. During those long summers in the fields, I would only see the family at night, but Teddy was with me all the time. But there came the time I joined the military and had to go off to war. I didn’t know how to leave him. How do you explain to someone who loves you so much that you are leaving him and you won’t be chasing woodchucks with him tomorrow like always?
So, I left without saying goodbye. I was gone for an extended time. Life went on for Teddy-without me! But coming home from the Navy (after World War II), was something I can scarcely describe. The last bus stop was fourteen miles from the farm. I got off there that night about 11:00 P.M. and walked the rest of the way home. It was two or three in the morning when I was a half of mile from our house. It was pitch dark, but I knew every step of the way by memory. Suddenly Teddy heard my approach! He began his warning barking. What comes next is most amazing…I whistled…only once! After all this time…the barking stopped! There was a yelp of recognition, and I knew that a big black form was hurtling toward me in the darkness. Almost immediately he was there in my arms.
What comes home to me now is the eloquence with which that unforgettable memory speaks to me even today. It speaks to me of my God. If my dog, without any explanation, would love me and take me back after all that time, how do you explain that? Love does that! God is the perfect model of that kind of love. The source of it actually. If you have been away, let him welcome you home-no questions asked. He does that!”
What a great story. We need to remind each other that is the nature of our God. He loves us even when we choose to neglect Him for a while. But when we are ready to return to Him-His arms are open wide. That was the truth the Prodigal Son learned the day he came home. He never expected a celebration in a million years-but that is precisely what he got. So do we all when the Father welcomes us home. Shout out that kind of love to a world that is desperate to experience it. That is the gospel good news! Amen? Amen!