Driven By Love

Driven by Love - Rod Dugan 

I have a friend who thinks God is self-indulgent, demanding, selfish, and self-centered. He sees this in God’s calls to “obey or burn,” in “draw close to Me or perish”, in “worship Me only” and “have no other Gods before Me”.

 I can see how he could think that. The way my friend frames it, certainly makes it sound like God is all about Himself, an ego maniac full of himself. I can see it especially if you assume the calls to obey and come closer are about some selfish need God is driven by, some desperate weakness or lack that our closeness somehow satisfies.

 My granddaughter was home for Christmas. First thing Christmas morning we went outside to get some fresh air and enjoy the first rays of the sun. It was a little cool out, but we didn’t put our shoes on. My original intent was to walk out on the porch briefly so being sock-footed was ok. She was drinking in the fresh air, enjoying leaning on the porch rail looking at the sun when her little toes got cold. So, I picked her up, held her close and wrapped her in my arms to help keep her warm. The next thing she wanted to do was to go look at Grandma’s garden. We walked off the porch down to the garden, her still in my arms. The Sedum were dormant but a stately brown and rust. The Black-eyed Susan and Echinacea leaning sun ward even in dormancy, caught her eye and drew her curiosity.  The Roses, to our surprise, were still putting out buds. No flowers just buds. It was winter but there were still interesting life things to discover. During this outdoor exploration I carried her because the ground was cold and hard. I held her close because she wasn’t prepared for the coolness of the winter morning. We did what she wanted: perused the garden, visited the Linden tree and went back inside happy and satisfied before she got too cold. Once inside, she excitedly told her mother all the great things she had seen while outside with Grandpa. Then she looked up at me in adoration like only a granddaughter can, gave me a big little hug, and ran to the kitchen in search of breakfast.

 I don’t agree with my friend. I think God’s call to obey, draw close, and even worshiping Him only, are about us being in the best place possible to experience life. It’s more about us being closer to the source of life, being where the fires of life burn hottest.

If anybody is incomplete and in need it is us, not him. We are the ones outside sock-footed, we are the ones without adequate covering for the harsh weather and storms we will encounter.  When we go runnin’ round the cold hard ground of the garden in our stocking feet and fall on our nose, it’s not God’s fault. He offered to carry us.

 God wants us close to Him because He is driven by love, not selfishness.

That’s what I think.