Bungee Cord 7-17-17

Hello,

     I was watching a baseball game on TV last week, when during a break in the play one of the announcers began talking about his grandson, whose baseball game he had gone to see.  “His team was behind 8-4, and they brought my grandson into pitch.  He held them scoreless for four innings, and when the game was over his team won, 11-4.  Let me tell you, he made his grandfather proud!”

     And what grandfather wouldn’t have been proud?  I don’t have any grandchildren, but I suspect that when a grandchild draws upon talents and skills with excellence that has come from hard work….a piano recital, a great report card, a winning soccer goal….pride just naturally erupts from a grandparent’s heart.  I’ve been there when such things have happened, and I have been tapped on the shoulder by a pride filled grandparent who unreservedly says, “That’s my grandson!”

     I don’t doubt, without anthropomorphizing God too much, that the same thing happens in the heart of God when those who bear God’s name excel…when such a one welcomes a teased child to eat lunch at her table, when such a one opens up his heart and wallet to those who have been driven from their homes, when such a one uses precious vacation time to stay with a neighbor whose health is declining so their caregiving spouse can get some rest.  I am sure that if there’s a shoulder for God to tap, when such things happen by those who bear God’s name, God proudly says, “That one’s mine!”

     But there is something different about God than the average grandfather or grandmother.  I have been to baseball games where I know that the person next to me is the grandparent of the pitcher, but that person isn’t saying anything as their grandchild walks the bases full and then walks in the winning run.  I’ve been with children in jail who just don’t seem to be able to stay out of trouble, who haven’t gotten a visit or letter from their grandparent.  Although it may not be true of every grandparent, it seems that when a grandchild blows it, can’t get their act together, or brings shame to the family name, there isn’t a lot of shoulder tapping, pridefully claiming their grandchild.  More often than not, there’s silence, and sometimes there is pure rejection.

     But that’s the difference with God.  When one who bears God’s name blows it to the point that the world is ready to cast that one out, God steps forward and says without shame, “This one is mine!”  When one who bears God’s name wanders and strays into trouble and danger over and over again to the point that people’s patience has worn out, God steps forward and with shepherds arms picks that one up and says, “This one is mine!”  And when one who bears God’s name makes a fool of themselves and the whole world is laughing at them, God steps forward and says with uncompromising force, “This one is mine!”

     How do I know this to be true of God?  That is what Jesus is all about.  As Jesus said, Jesus came to redeem sinners…to lift up those who had been beaten down….to be the physician to those who were sick…to say in a way that has echoed from the cross of all who the world has cast off, laughed at and given up on, “This one is mine.”

     “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God.  And that is what we are.” (1 John 3:1)

     That is what we are when we excel…..and that is what we are when we absolutely blow it.  That is the kind of God we have.

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger