A couple of weeks ago, I visited some young friends who are expecting their first child. They apologized for their home being in disarray and explained that they were busy getting the nursery ready for their new baby. I remember my own intensity as I prepared my first-born child’s room. I wanted everything to be perfect for this not yet born child. I fretted over paint colors and border prints. I chose blankets that would feel extra soft on his newborn skin. I selected wall art that was decorative but also designed to stimulate his developing brain. I added stuffed animals for fun, and a windup crib mobile with a carefully chosen song. When one thinks about it, it’s quite a lot of fuss for a twenty-inch creature whose main desire is to be cuddled and nursed every 3 hours!
But I wanted this room to be more than practical; I wanted it to reflect the joy and love I felt for this new life. During my last month of pregnancy on nights when sleep would elude me, I would wander into the nursery. With my hands on the bulging outline of this soon to be born child, I would whisper, “See your room? Do you like it? It’s all for you, it’s all for you!”
Last week I stepped outside early in the morning just after sunrise. I breathed in the fresh spring air, gazed up at the deep blue sky, heard the chorus of birds singing to one another, looked at the budding azaleas, dogwoods, and columbine, and I added my own words of praise to this spring anthem, a performance taking place right in front of me.
God has designed a world that doesn’t simply sustain life, but an exquisite world that reflects his perfect sense of order, design, beauty. He goes over the top with works of art we may never notice: the finely painted beetle, colorful sea creatures that live deep in the ocean, the intricate star shape hiding inside the columbine blossom — just to name a few. And I think if we take time to offer praise to his creation, we might hear him whisper to us, “Do you like it? I made it for you. It’s all for you, it’s all for you.”
As amazing as all of this is, we know life is far from perfect. Tragedies occur, people become sick, bad things happen to us and to those we love. We also mess up; even with the best of intentions we mess up our world, our relationships, including our bond with the Creator who loves us.
On Good Friday we remember a harsh image—the Incarnate God, Jesus, stretching out his arms on the hard wood of the Cross to mend the bond between God and us. He tells us, “I want you to be with me always, and I will do whatever it takes.” I really cannot comprehend that kind of love, but I am convinced that God loves us more than we can ever love Him. Our brokenness has been restored by pure undeserved grace bought at a high price, and it’s all for you, all for you.
How should we respond to such outrageous love? Certainly to love him back and to love others. But I think there is another response—and that is to hope. We can have hope because we know the end of the story. Resurrection and new life are not only for eternity but we see hints of it here and now. The One who causes the dogwoods to bloom every spring, the one who turns the brown grass to green is the same one who, in His time, can bring healing out of tragedy, transform resentment to forgiveness, and plant new seeds of joy in hearts that have been broken.
In love, He created a beautiful world for you. In love, He laid down His life for you. All for you, all for you.
holymeetsordinary 