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The way my other children were yelling, you would have thought that my one year old had lost an arm.
But no.
Arriving on the scene, I could see him there in the hallway, sitting and playing in a small puddle of his own making.
APPARENTLY…
His diaper was leaking. Not because it was full, but because someone (ehem … cough), in his haste, did not secure it properly.
But perspective is everything, isn’t it?
Where my other kids saw the mess, I saw a very joyful boy … well, and the mess. I’m a father after all.
And that is precisely where most Christians are losing me today.
Let me explain.
God’s playfulness in the world, His ability to see what is good beyond the puddle at your feet is what will save you in the end.
It is obvious to anyone with two eyes that our world is in pretty bad shape today. There are scandals inside and outside of the Church.
There are disappointments and frustrations.
There are even disasters and attacks on the most basic of rights.
This should all be obvious.
And where it’s not, we Christians are pretty good about drawing attention to it.
And yet, for all that mess, we seem to be losing the ability to see something equally. No, scratch that, something much more important.
What is that?
That God is still active in the world, not just a little bit, but in monumental ways.
Here’s a sobering thought.
The ancient Jews were in awe of God’s willingness to raise the sun in the morning and bring out the stars at night; to pour down rain on the sinner and saint alike.
They marvelled at God’s consideration for each one of us even in our brokenness and mess.
“Who is man that you are mindful of him?” (Hebrews 2:6)
In short, it’s like they could see His smile in everything, a perfect hand playing joyfully with very imperfect clay, but not to amuse Himself. Don’t be silly.
God’s playfulness in the world, His ability to see what is good beyond the puddle at your feet is what will save you in the end.
It’s His ability to find joy in what is right with the world as opposed to lament uncontrollably about what is wrong—that has and will continue to bring others home to the Faith.
That’s what I want to read about. That’s what I want to see.
I want a world where every last Christian—in the thick of the battle though he may be—still recognizes the good when it is present and the awesomeness of our God in the messy moments.
For while I am certain that a truly Christian army could win any war and be the deciding factor in any vote, that is not what I want us to be known for.
We are Christians after all.
Like a toddler splashing away in the corridor, we should be smiling and not just screaming along with the rest of the children.
in Christ,
patrick