HomeWord - Sept. 9, 2008
Spit-Up
This devotional was written by Kelly McFadden
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are…”
1 John 3:1
At 5:30 a.m. my alarm, a.k.a. my son, wakes up with the roosters to let me know he is hungry. I pull him from his crib and we sit in the rocking chair so he can have his meal. As he eats I talk with him, pray for him, but mostly we just sit silently.
At the end of the meal, I lift him and place him over my shoulder and gently rub his back so he can burp and get those air bubbles out. There tends to be a lot of air-swallowing in the morning and sometimes he pulls away from my shoulder – I think to look at me in loving appreciation – but instead he spits up and out comes a good portion of his morning meal all over the two of us.
Sometimes, I feel like I do the same thing to God. He has given me the greatest gift: His son who died on the cross for me so I can have eternal life. In fact, God loves us so much that He calls us His children. He wants us to live in step with His desires, a life that is pleasing to Him.
1 John 3:3 says, “Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” Because we are children of God, we should want to live a pure life as our example Jesus did. But sometimes, I think we all spit up on God. He nurtures us, cares for us, delights in us and too often we simply pull away and throw it all right back in His face through our sin and disobedience.
When my son spits up on me, my first response is to pull away, because honestly, it isn’t pleasant. My next response is to check on him and see if he is okay. Usually he is looking at me with his big blue eyes as wide as they can be. Then he smiles at me and my heart melts. So I give him a big kiss, clean him off and change his clothes. That is what I believe God does with us. We seek forgiveness and He says, “You are already forgiven, my Son took your sin to the cross.” Then He picks us up in His arms, cleans us off and sends us out to try it again.
Going Deeper:
- In what ways have you spit up on God?
- You are adopted into God’s family when you choose to believe. In reflecting on that, what changes do you need to make in your life to work towards living a holy and pleasing life to God?
Further Reading:
John 1:10-14; Romans 8:16-17; Ephesians 1:4-5
Kelly McFadden works with HomeWord’s radio broadcast and content teams. She and her husband Michael are the new parents of Campbell McFadden.
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