Sloppy love

The note read, "Here's your money back, I did it because God told me to do it." While the nephew shall remain nameless... (he has red hair, 5 siblings, and splits his time between basketball and deer hunting) what he wrote served to illustrate what Jessica and I would call the sloppy love of God.

You know what I refer to if you are a parent. Its that kiss that your toddler gives you which is just a little too wet and requires a beach towel to clean up. They usually occur when least expected or when most needed. In the stillness of the early morning they squeak out of their bed, find you with your morning cup of coffee, look at you with those eyes you could get lost in, wrap those chubby fingers around your neck and plant one on you. It reminds you why you're a parent and encourages you to press on.

This metaphor will serve to illustrate our experience in the last two weeks. A brief summary: two weeks ago Sunday I had been up all through the night with Ollie who had a fever and was throwing up. I put a load of laundry in first thing Sunday morning and the utility room flooded. After some testing it was determined that the washer needed replacement. Monday morning I was up early reading and having a steaming cup of Joe when the fridge made a noise unfamiliar to my ears. After some testing it was determined that we were on borrowed time and it needed replacement as well. Our constant prayer through this whole thing with Jada has been that our trust of God would deepen even when the outlook is the bleakest available option. What happened the following 5 days was not unlike that sloppy kiss just described.

It began with one person, then two and then about five in all who gave us gifts of love in varying amounts of cash. All told the Lord blessed us with a new washer and dryer set, a refrigerator, and a free recliner. Now, catch this - the gifts we received began before the calamity befell us. However, the total of those gifts was roughly $25 more than the total we spent. God IS EXTRAVAGANT but not wasteful. His love is sloppy because it came when least expected but DEFINITELY when most needed.

Psalm 18:19 "He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me." When you read this what are your first thoughts? I read that and there are times, even this week if I am honest, in which I say, "yeah right. He delights in me? No way - he did not see or hear what I did or said just two hours ago... let me build up a track record which would make me worthy of love."

However, the real mind blower for me is this: write that verse out on a sheet of paper, draw circles around "he brought, he rescued, and he delighted." Invert the verse, "He delights so he brings about your rescue." Still we have not arrived at the motive for WHY he delights, etc. That is a crucial question to ascertain an answer to because so many of us in trials and even in the mundane still want to bust out the rag and a good bar of soap to clean ourselves up a bit before being presented to Him. The answer could not be more glaring when one realizes that the cause of his delight is not us but his Son. God does not look at Doug Rumbold and say, "now there is a stand-up guy." NO! He looks at me and says, "now there is a guilt filled, glory seeking, prideful, self-serving, and occasionally behaving man... Good thing he's got Jesus."

What does all this add up to? Well, I am certainly thankful for the monetary gifts, but I am most thankful for the perfect obedience to the point of sacrifice of God's own Son, Jesus Christ. Why? Because even in difficult times there is something about one's obedience to the Father that is beautiful.

The last event that occurred which served to encourage Jess and I still further was simple. I left my car at Alan's (my older brother) house while I borrowed his truck to pick up the new appliances. Admittedly I am not the most organized guy in the world and my car was in a state of disarray internally when I left it. My nephew cleaned out the inside to top notch specifications. When I picked up my car all I had was $2 cash on me. So, I thought, "I'll tip the man for his efforts and help him realize that his kindness and diligence were of great encouragement to his aunt and uncle." I left the money with his mom and dad and hit the road. The following day he shows up with a sealed envelope and nonchalantly hands it to me. When Jess and I read the note (the contents quoted above) and found the $2 inside we were amazed. "I did it because God told me to." No gain in it for himself. Obedience. That's all.

So, rest assured when a sloppy kiss of God's love comes your way - it was enabled by THE ACT of obedience by Jesus Christ. . . nothing you did to deserve it.