Today is our son Preston’s birthday so in the days leading up to this event I am spending extra focused time thinking about him and praying for him.
I think I know Preston better than anyone else does, or at least as much as Amy knows him. I know his many grins, each with a slightly different meaning; sneaky, joyful, mischievous, nervous, shy, eager, embarrassed, or relieved. So many images going through my mind right now.
I can smell his hair and know how long it has been since he last showered.
His walk, sometimes light and jubilant, sometimes slow and methodical. Both tell his mode and mood.
Some of the little sounds he makes when he’s frustrated, sad or lonely. I almost always know what each little peep means.
His footsteps far away in the house when he’s scared; he runs recklessly. Amy and I always know this run and we tell him to walk, and we say “there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
The peace that he has when he plays with his toy cars or Legos. He’s in another place being creative, being a little boy, doing what little boys do.
When he’s hungry, or as we often use the slang term “hangry” (so hungry that you’re angry).
When he grabs my hand as we walk together. When he asks me to carry him because I still can, and he knows I actually like it.
When I’m about to leave for business travel and he snuggles up really close to me, he doesn’t have to say a word.
When his questions are not meant to generate a real answer, just a response. He just wants attention.
If you know me at all, you know tears of joy flow down my face as I wrote all of this so far. Perhaps you might also get a glimpse into how much I love this boy, and the more I know him, the more I love him.
A similar theme is in Matthew 11:
All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. (Matthew 11:27)
Jesus knows the Father (God), and God knows his son (Jesus) better than anyone else. When I think about my own sons, I think about how true this scripture is, the significance of our relationships, and how significant the God & Jesus relationship is.
This leads me to how significant it is that our God created us for a personal relationship with him and his son. He reveals himself to us all the time in many mysterious ways, sometimes seemingly small and sometimes massive.
It was modeled in the God the Father and Jesus relationship, and as we consider our Earthly relationships, this should serve as a reminder that God so much desires us, but we have to choose him. He loves us so much that he sent the one he loved to die in our place. The ultimate sacrifice. The ultimate substitution. The ultimate Father, the ultimate Son.