A Kiss

This morning while I was half asleep, My Girl was getting ready to leave for work. Right before she left she leaned down and kissed me, saying, “When your day is going badly remember this, because I think you forgot yesterday.” Later that day I was yelling at God, and I heard those words again, except this time they were from God and He said them with a chuckle. Growing up I never even considered that God would want to kiss me or that when I was angry and yelling at Him He’d attempt to give me something that beautiful to remember.

The God I had growing up didn’t like me much, for the most part He tolerated me, was disappointed in me, and heart broken by my actions. I could never please Him, and He was always angry. I’m not sure where I got this picture. I’m not sure who presented this God to me. I wonder if it wasn’t the Old Testament. I had a picture of God in my head He was very moody, very angry, and very difficult to please.  Which frankly this is the way the Old Testament portrays Him. This confuses me. The New Testament claims, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever, and if Christ is one with God then God is the same yesterday today and forever. I think the change is not God but rather the change lies in the covenant.

The first covenant demanded perfection of the people, therefore God demanded perfection of His people, and He had to. He set up a standard and demanded they follow it. When they didn’t He rejected them, when Moses asked for His favor He gave a pardon. Justice personified, my childish mind couldn’t rectify justice and love. Honestly, it still confuses me. I can understand it a little better, but the harsh punishments dealt out, the slaughtering of entire nations including children makes no sense when set next to Love. I always laugh a bit when people say “God would never endorse that!” I always want to reply with, “Oh really? Did you know that our God demanded the slaughtering of nations, including infants? Did you know that our God told a prophet to lie on his side butt-naked for three years? Did you know that our God never condemned Sodom and Gomorrah for anything except pride, and inhospitality?  Now this was the sin of Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. —Ezekiel 16:49-50 Did you know that our God never condemned a women for playing the harlot and sleeping with her brother-in-law, in fact she was considered more righteous than the brother-in-law?” The list is endless. Our God does not fit into a box.

Then there is the New Testament that does not require anything except that we accept the sacrifice of life given up for us. It allows God full justice and full Grace; we are now under the life and history of Christ. Our records no longer hold our sin, but instead the perfection that was Christ and that was freely given to us. Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father is loved beyond understanding, and we are loved the same. God can now kiss us without reserve because we are perfect. He hasn’t changed He still demand perfection, we have changed, we are perfect now, not because we did anything to change ourselves, but because of Christ. When God kisses you and tells you to remember His kiss when you’re having a bad moment, remember that you are perfect, and rejoice in His love.