I'm standing out in the afternoon warmth and it is raining. At first I just felt something cold like a pin prick on my arm. It made me look up and wonder if that was rain. The clouds were not really thick or menacing and the air was calm. I wondered to myself and then I felt it again and quickly again, and so I knew that it was a sprinkle from the sky.
As I contemplate the interesting feel of a drop or two of rain, I hold my arms out to see if they'll be hit by a stray drop. And soon, it becomes apparent that it is now more than just a drop or two. It is undeniably raining lightly. Not enough to really matter I think. Not enough to even get my shirt noticeably wet unless I stayed out in the open for 10 minutes or longer. Mmmm, a nice light, comforting rain.
A whisper of a breeze from the northeast causes goose bumps to run up my forearm and around my shoulder to the base of my neck. My body has a mild uncontrollable shiver. The kind that makes you shake your shoulders a little but is gone as quickly as it came. It is that little breeze that is now turning into a light wind that perks up my senses just a little. Hmmm, is there something more going on here?
Properly warned, you may have thought I would have been on my way to shelter. But, I found myself almost unaware of what was happening around me; what was happening to me.
The northeast wind pushed the rain down hard from the sky now. It was really pouring. At
first, it dripped down the back of my neck and then within moments the drops were so big and the pace was so fast that there was no more dry to go with the wet. Who could deny the force of this water from the sky? I was soaking wet; I mean all the way to the bone. Hmmm, the sky opened and poured itself out on me. Relentlessly. Mercilessly. Or, perhaps mercifully?
That is my story. My story is about the relentless, merciful love that God shows us in our lives. Sometimes I have to lean back and close my eyes and say to myself, "Are you kidding me God?". I feel you lightly tap my shoulder with a drop of your love and I ignore it. And then, as you bless me, I turn away again. And, as I turn away yet again you pour your love out on me, even as I still try to deny it. Mercifully, grace-fully you love me still.
It is the Easter season and God is pouring his love out on us through the death and resurrection of his son Jesus. Let us worship him. Whether you are 12 years old or 21, 45, or 73, God does not care. If you have spent your life denying him, he will welcome you. Like a beautiful summer rain, God's love is ready. Are you?
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
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