Hello,
“I LOVE YOU”
Scrawled on the inside cover of a closed pizza box, a
husband casually eating his pizza greets his wife who has just conquered an arduous bike ride by
flipping the box open and showing those three words. “I LOVE YOU.”
It is a commercial that I have seen a couple of times over
the past several weeks. The
commercial starts off with the husband encouraging his struggling wife at the
beginning of the trek saying, “You alright?” Moments later in the commercial, the husband has raced forward
along the course in his car, and hoists another home made sign, “YOU’RE A
MACHINE!” One more
stop of encouragement , and then the commercial end: the wife, crossing the
finish line all by herself, spent by the journey, greeted by her husband’s sign,
“I LOVE YOU.”
I have to admit that I feel a bit of guilt as this
commercial for some un-rmemebered product plays in front of me. The guilt that I feel comes
from having a wife who is far more self-disciplined at keeping in shape than I,
and is, like the wife in the commercial, always challenging herself with
distance cycling. She has pedaled
her way across large sections of several states, around Lake Tahoe, and in a
couple of weeks will be riding another single day 100 mile course in
Gettysburg, Pa. I, unlike the
husband in the commercial have not nor will I be there at the start of the race
to urge her on. Nor have I or will
I be there at checkpoints along the course cheering her along. And neither have I nor will I be there
at the end, eating Pizza ready to applaud her efforts with a sign saying, “I
LOVE YOU.” Therein lies my guilt.
I tell you of this commercial not to make this a viral
confession, but rather to share with you the other feelings that register in my
heart when I see it playing in front of me: joy, gratitude, and wonder. It may be a commercial for some product, but when I see it,
I see it as a picture of the way God deals with me: intercepting me along the
arduous journey of life, encouraging me , cheering me on, and in the end
greeting me with the sign that has motivated him all along, “I LOVE YOU.” In the waters of Baptism God showed his
love for me at the beginning of the journey. In many and various ways along the course of my life he has
encouraged me and cheered me on, most prominently Sunday after Sunday when our
paths collide at his table. And
although I haven’t gotten there yet, I won’t be surprised at the end of my
journey to find God there, too, holding a sign that will be scrawled in God’s
own handwriting, saying, “I LOVE YOU.”
Never once in the commercial does the husband’s encounter
with his wife focus on techniques (“sit up straighter…use more of your left
leg!”) or threats (“Do this right or there’s no pizza for you at the
end.”). And yet, if you ask a lot
of people, they will tell you that they perceive Christianity to be focused on
morals (how to ride a bike/be a Christian correctly) or a threat (“do this
right or there’s no pizza/heaven for you at the end.”) However, the Bible, as I see it, depicts a Christ, and Christianity that
is far more like the commercial and less like people’s perceptions of the
Christian faith.
Read it and
see. See that in Jesus’ world
where people were preoccupied with technique, Jesus was preoccupied with
forgiveness and encouragement. In Jesus’
world that assured the wrath of God for wrong behavior (ex. healing on the Sabbath),
Jesus got in trouble for responding in mercy and kindness. Clearly, the Bible plays out a Christ
and Christianity that cares about the struggle we face, encourages us on as we
tire and fall, and in the end will welcome us, not with a Pizza box with words
on it, but with outstretched arms and nail pierced hands that have the words
written in blood, “I LOVE YOU,” upon them.
Joy!
Gratitude! Wonder!
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace (ggap),
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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