The thing is that I have blog posts in my mind constantly, but how to find the time to sit down at a keyboard and jot them down.........Here goes.
Cassie has this game right now called "Rescue Me." She wants to get a head start running and then wants me to chase her until I catch her and then she says "Momma, you rescued me!" She is so cute with her blond girls bouncing as she lets me get close and then squeals with delight at the inevitable capture. She collapses in my arms and says "Oh Momma, I luv you."
Then, she says, "Okay, now I rescue you..... I coming, Momma, I comin'...."
It has made me think a lot about the word RESCUE. It has connotations in my mind of being in a dangerous situation that is not of my own making--thus, I am a victim and in need of rescuing. Only if I am an innocent do I deserve to be rescued. And the converse is if I messed up and made this mess, then I do not deserve to be rescued. I deserve what I am getting.
But, in fact, none of us deserve to be rescued. Really, I am, we all are, creating the need for our own rescue. Sure, we are born into sin and whether we could choose to not is a theological debate for another day. But, really, we start the run away. God does not move from us. We move from Him. And this moving and shifting away from God is something we are doomed in our flesh to do again and again. And we feel shame that we ran, shame that we needed to be rescued.
But, even when we run, Jesus does not stay still in judgment and condemnation. He does not cluck His tongue "Shame, shame, I am having to get you out of another scrape. Won't you ever learn?" No, He pursues us. He runs to rescue us. He knows we create the hazard and the danger and the need for intervention, yet He leaps to save us. His love knows no bounds as He hurtles over obstacles to come for us and chase after our hearts.
And, I am getting to the amazing thing that Cassie's little game is showing me. What if, like Cassie, our favorite part was the inevitable capture and collapse into the arms of Christ, our Redeemer. Her delight is not in the rebellion of running. Her delight is in being pursued and then ultimately in her Pursurer. "Oh Jesus, you rescued me! Oh Jesus, I luv you!" What if instead of shame at needing to be rescued, I thrilled in Him. He came for me! He is my joy! He came to rescue me! What if His redemption never failed to thrill me. The adventure of being passionately sought after and ransomed much more captivating than any temptation that could draw me away. The comfort of His gentle conviction and resulting sanctification more satisfying than any old burden of shame I could punish myself with for having run in the first place because it was all about Him and the wildness of Him coming for me.
As I live more and more in this joy of His rescue, then, all of the sudden, I am pursuing the Pursurer. I am running so hard after Him, giggling with glee as I fly like the wind, and the best part is still collapsing in His arms. Because He is Rescue. He is the adventure. He is the delight.
"For there is none like God, riding to your rescue through the skies....
Lucky Israel! Who has it as good as you? A people saved by God!
The Shield who defends you, the Sword who brings triumph."
The Shield who defends you, the Sword who brings triumph."
Deuteronomy 33: 26-29
