Faith like Finger Paint
Song of Solomon 4:7, “You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you” (NIV).
I went to a 2000’s throwback party with some dear sisters in Christ awhile back. We embraced our childhoods once again and made some silly sparkly crafts; bedazzled mini tote bags that reminded me of some of the projects my 10 year old self aspired to make way back when.
When I got home my hubby asked how the night had gone. I mentioned how we’d let our inner child out and showed him my silly craft. “What are you going to do with it?” He asked.
“I don’t know. I’ll probably just throw it away.”
He looked stricken, “What? You can’t do that! I’ll keep it.”
I looked at him, one eyebrow raised, “Seriously?”
“Yes,” he said grabbing the tiny bedazzled bag. “Because it’s something my wife made. It’s precious to me.”
I left that conversation feeling a little bit silly but very deeply loved. My minimalist aspiring self saw the craft as something that was fun to make but easily discarded. My husband, however, saw something different. He cherished the silly little thing because he cherished the person who made it. The same is true of God and us. Zechariah 4:10 is one of my favorite verses. It says, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin…” (NLT).
Small, humble, awkward, imperfect. And yet God rejoices over it. Not because our steps of faith are so great, but because of who is taking them. He treasures the good works of His children--the well-intentioned, silly looking attempts to please Him--because He treasures us, His children. You are not treasured by God because of the work you do. The work you do is treasured by God because of who you are to Him.
I’ve heard several pastors over the years say that if our small acts of faith were finger paint pictures God would proudly put them up on His refrigerator. Because He loves us. Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross made us blameless and without fault in His sight (Col. 1:22) so He is free to fully enjoy our tiny, awkward attempts to please Him. We are His children now. Nothing stands between us and Him. We can fully revel in our Father / child relationship with Him, and Him with us.
Question: Do you find yourself striving to do great things for God to earn His love and affection?
Colossians 1:22, "Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault" (NLT).
Ephesians 3:17-18, "Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is" (NLT).