Another entry in my ad hoc series on finding “the real thing”….
The other morning I was in the kitchen when I heard my 3-year-old son, who had just awakened, tromping down the stairs. I grabbed him at the bottom of the stairs in a big bear hug and he burried his face against my neck. There was a moment when I could feel his absolute trust, contentment, and joy in being wrapped up in his dad’s embrace. At that moment I knew I was completely fulfilling my calling in life for that moment. There was nothing else in that moment that I could have or should have been doing other than embracing my son. It struck me that it’s these simple relational things that, more often than not, are “the real thing” we seek so earnestly in our intellectual and spiritual journeys.
It also struck me that this was a picture of how God desires to relate to us. The beauty of that moment came not only from my willingness to embrace my son, but also from his delight and faith in me. He was content in my embrace because nothing in the world meant more to him than to be loved by me. And this is how is is meant to be between us and our heavenly father.