I'm gettin' nuttin' for Christmas, Mommy and Daddy are mad...what about God?

 "To be honest if I were to come face to face with God, I would want to hide from Him", she confessed to me one December day. I could sense the regretful tone in her voice as she admitted this truth.

In light of the holiday season, I was reminded of my kids' favorite holiday song as of late, "I'm getting nuttin' for Christmas" by Relient K. The punk rock version of this song frequently fills the sound of our home, and the catchy chorus fills my little boys' lungs and lips as they sing the words,

I'm gettin' nuttin' for Christmas
Mommy and Daddy are mad
I'm getting nuttin' for Christmas
'Cause I ain't been nuttin' but bad

In her moment of confession, it occurred to me, that this song reflects how a lot of people think of God. In many imaginations, God is a distant figure in the sky with strategically placed elves on shelves all over the world. His all-consuming interest being our behavior, good or bad. Bad behavior makes God happy, earns His favor and reward, and bad behavior makes Him mad and results in our misfortunes. 

Just the other day, my 9-year-old confessed that over the days before Christmas, every time he exhibited bad behavior he imagined us secretly switching his name tagged gift with one instead named for his brother. Anytime he was good and helpful he imagined us taking his brothers' name tag off a gift and in place putting one with his name on it. Maybe, I need to rethink the kinds of parental approved Christmas movies my kids are watching. In any case, thankfully I got to explain, that was not what his dad and I did at all, and it's not how God operates either.

While studying Marriage and Family Therapy, I was introduced to some scholarly studies that showed a correlation between a persons' own relationship with their parents and their relationship with God. If a parent is distant and cold, then God takes on this projected quality. The same goes for a warm and gracious or critical and judgmental parent. That December day, I shared with my confessing companion that a part of our sanctification process is sorting out the qualities that we have projected onto God from the true qualities of who He really is.

So, who is God and what is He like? Are God's emotions so easily manipulated by our behaviors or our ability to win His approval? Is God ashamed of us because we don't live up to His expectations or standards for living.

I think God is like the Father in the prodigal son story (Luke 15:11-32). At times, all of us will take advantage of His goodness and run away with our premature inheritance, but God isn't put into a bad or critical mood when we do this. Scripture says in multiple places, He is gracious and compassionate and slow to anger (Psalm 86:15). 

Does God feel anger? Yes. Does God feel heartbreak or sadness? Yes, but I believe it is short lived. In all His wisdom He knows where the road will lead when we do things our own way and abandon God's perfect timing and plan for our life. For the prodigal son it ended him up in the pig pen. God grieves for a short while and then He gets back to planning a party for our return. Because He knows we will return. There is nothing of worth having outside of God's goodness, provision and glorious riches (Ephesians 1:18).

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people”.

And in response to my 9 year old son, I got to tell him, "No matter what you do, even if you only did bad things, you would still get Christmas presents because you are our son and we love you." 

That is who God is.

Merry Christmas

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hot Dog Party

Image
"Do you want a cracker?" I said as we sat in the truck waiting. "No," said my now two year old son. "Do you want some water?" I said. "No," he chirped back. I tried again, "Do you want your truck?" "No!" he said again getting a little annoyed. My distraction technique was majorly striking out as I attempted to deter him from wanting to get out of his car seat. I needed to come up with something clever. So I said, "Do you want a hot dog party!?" "Yeah!" he answered enthusiastically. Score! I had gotten him to answer back in a positive way and in my amusement I couldn't help but laugh. However, now I had to deliver somehow. Then I remembered Nana and Grandpa were watching him that night so I told him he could have a hot dog party with them.  Thanks for bringing the hot dogs Mom and Pops! "Hot dog party" comes from the book, Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! by, Mo Williams...
Read more

Preparing for a Peace-Filled & Relaxed Birth

Image
 My baby is now 9 months old. She is learning to crawl, standing up, and has grown two teeth. Finally, I am getting back to the post I started writing when I was 35 weeks pregnant. It's still worth posting. Someone needs to be encouraged. I think us mama's and mama's to be, need all the encouragement we can get. For, the job of Mom is very difficult, and yet, is of the upmost importance. April 2024 As I sit here and write this, I am currently about 35 weeks pregnant with my fourth baby. My mind and body have been pre-occupied with the upcoming change and new life that will soon enter my arms, our family, and the world. Even after having three pregnancies, labors, and deliveries my mind is just as vulnerable to the unsettling feeling of the unknown that labor and delivery can be. If I am not careful it can be easy to rehearse all the discomfort and the pain that was a part of my previous experiences and play them in my mind thus, producing fear and uncertainty. Recently, I a...
Read more