Sweet Potato Burns

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! 1 Chronicles 16:34

I have a memory from when I was quite young of being burned – or nearly burned – by sweet potatoes. I was only three or four years old, so my memory may be a little fuzzy, but I recall that I grabbed the bowl of sweet potatoes from the dinner table, spilling the contents, including scalding hot liquid, onto my lap. I don’t remember the pain of the burn. I do remember my dad grabbing everyone’s water glasses and throwing their waters on me. I remember bursting into tears as he did so. His actions were just so sudden, frightening, and unexpected. Why would he do that? Later, my dad was able to explain that he threw the water on me to prevent a burn, but in the moment, I couldn’t understand that. Later, in seeing the big picture, I grasped that my father was motivated by love. At the time though, all I saw was dad being mean.

I think that’s probably a microcosm of how I see God sometimes. In any trial, all I understand is my discomfort and I’m tempted to view God as uncaring, indifferent, or even malicious. In my self-centered and short-sighted view of the world, I appreciate only a tiny fraction of time and reality. Just as three-year-old me didn’t understand my dad, I don’t understand my heavenly father. If I think about it, I can see that the intellectual distance between my father and me back then is dwarfed by the distance between God and me now. So, it’s honestly no surprise that I don’t always understand God.

It is important then, that I regularly remind myself of the lesson of today’s passage – God loves us. When we’re tempted to view God as calloused, indifferent, or even cruel, we must remind ourselves that God is good and that he truly loves us. We may not feel it, but feelings are ephemeral. One of the great truths of the Bible is that God created us and that he loves us. If we believe in and follow him, he has a plan for our lives that has an eternal happy ending. God loves us and wants what’s best for us . . . even if we don’t feel that way right here and now.