Close to the Father
The most noticeable thing about being around a newborn is how much they want closeness. How much they want warmth, comfort, and -quite simply- you! My nephew Hank was a strong advocate for snuggling when he was tiny. Oftentimes whenever he was crying all he wanted was to be “swaddled” – cocooned tightly in a blanket and cradled securely up against someone. Because he would get cold, or nervous, or uncomfortable. And being totally engulfed in my protection made him feel safe. After all…he was so tiny and confused. Closeness was all he understood.
“As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you…”
[Isaiah 66:13a NIV]
Over and over again, we are invited to be close to God. To come to him- to stretch out our arms to receive his love. He wants to protect us. He wants us to remain close to him.
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Henry is over four months now. He laughs constantly, turns his head to follow you across the room, and protests things by waving his left arm around. He’s also constantly wiggling. He much prefers to “sit” on you, normally, than squish up against you like he used to. Instead of being swaddled, he prefers that you pick him up and walk around with him, to divert him from discomfort. You, and your warmth, are not quite enough anymore.
Sound familiar? So often we lose interest in simply being close to God. We long for other things. The commonplace human desire for independence distracts us. We try to tackle problems on our own. We compare ourselves to other Christians who may seem to have loftier spiritual goals.
And, of course, change comes with growth. We can’t survive on milk forever- we must move on to bread and meat. But I don’t think that God ever wants us to outgrow wanting to be close to him. Plain and simple. When our ambitions lie in “being a strong Christian” instead of drawing nearer to our Heavenly Father…that is the mistake. Being close to God is the root of everything else we aspire to beyond that.
He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
[Matthew 10:14b, 15]
Like a little child. Little children don’t get stressed or depressed- they turn to their parents. They turn to a loving mother or father, who stands with open arms, and bury their faces in a hug. It’s enough for them. Is it enough for me? Do I say, “God, I will rest in you and wait on your direction” or do I strategically evaluate my strengths and weaknesses and try to figure out problems I can’t solve?
God gives us responsibilities, problems to work out, and tasks to face. But oh…let us not neglect to remain close to our loving Father first and foremost, and trust that he will hold us more securely than the best laid plans.
Filed under: Attributes of God, Christian Living, Trusting God
Beautiful!
Great post! It’s so true, too. How when we first recognize our spirituality all we want to do is be close to God, but as we mature in our own understanding, we try to get something more or try to do more on our own… It doesn’t work that way though and I’m so glad you wrote about it in this post. :]
-Bee-