On 22nd Feb 2009 I learned that God has suffered a lot while protecting and loving us. He suffered our rejection and willfulness when He tried to love us and hold us in His embrace. Last Sunday during the 9am service, there was this boy who was a bit destructive in the class. He walked about and going around the class disturbing other children. Thus, to prevent him from disturbing the class I have to grab him with my arms and make him sit on my lap. When I did that he actually used his finger nails to scratch my arms trying to break free (so now my arms have two scratch scars, one on each side :P). He even tried using his head to bang my face to cause me pain so that I will let him go.
This is the same picture between us and God. Luke recorded and account where Jesus lamented, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!(Luke 13:34)” Jesus was willing to hold them in his arms of love and tenderness, but they rejected him. Have we ever pushed his arms away when he tried to hold us? We may have behaved like the boy who tried to scar my arms. Jesus was scarred when he came to love us (1 John 4:9-10) because we rejected him. His nailed pierced hands, feet and side are scars that we have inflicted on him as we tried to escape from his loving arms. When he came holding us in his arms to keep us from self destruction and harming others, we rejects him and caused him pain. We mistook his strong and tender arms as a threat and we push it away. So, today if you feel God’s arms holding you, don’t feel threatened and push them away. It is God’s expression of love and care. Rest in his arms and feel the warmth of his love. GOD LOVES YOU. May we follow his example as we minister to the children, showing our love for them even when it hurts. “[E]veryone who loves is born of God and knows God (1 John 4:7b)”