One of my favorite things about being a dad is coming home after work. When Zeke hears the door open, he starts yelling, “Daddy” and running towards the door. He has a huge smile on his face and he jumps into my arms. He will grab on to me and lay his head on my shoulder. It is usually short-lived and he gets back to doing whatever he was doing before I walked in, but I look forward to that moment. There was that one time about a week ago where Angela and Zeke came to pick me up at work and he walked in the door, ran right past me yelling, “Chris” and went and hugged one of my co-workers but I won’t go there.
Zeke runs to Angela or I for a lot of things. He runs to us when we walk in the door. He runs to us when he is excited. He runs to us when he needs help. He runs to us when he gets hurt. He runs to us when he is hungry. He runs to us for just about anything. He could need something or he may just want to show us a truck that he is playing with for the millionth time.
Jeremiah 13:11 says, “As a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I created Judah and Israel to cling to me, says the LORD.” God created us to cling to Him. God created us to run into His arms for everything. God didn’t create us to be near Him, of even just to walk next to Him. God wants us to cling to him. The Bible talks a lot about being like a child, and as I’ve watched Zeke grow up it makes a lot more sense to me. He clings to me for everything. He clings to me for the good, the bad, and everything in between.
And think about the picture that verse is painting. As a loincloth clings to a man’s waist. Just imagine if you had underwear on that didn’t cling to your waist. In some cultures, a loincloth may be the only article of clothing that a man wears. That could get pretty embarrassing. God created us to cling to Him and when we don’t things can get a little messy and embarrassing.
It can be easier to cling to God when things aren’t going my way. I’m learning that even in the moments when things are perfect I still need to. Just like how Zeke runs and clings to me when I walk in the door, I’ve got to run and cling to God.
until next time…