Papa

I have four nieces and a (niece or nephew) on the way. One of the youngest of my nieces, Rosie, is 16 months old, and she is quite the adventurer.

For a while, "Papa" was the only word she could say. She would say this constantly, if she was ever afraid of lonely or bored or who knows what, she would ask for "Papa."

"Wow," my sister thought, "This girl really loves her Papa."

Recently she discovered, as Rosie held her arms out to her mother and said, "Papa!" That to her, "Papa" meant both Mama and Papa.

It should be no surprise to my consistent readers that this suggested a parable to me.

I realized that often in my life, if things get hard, if I'm feeling lonely or scared or overwhelmed or "who knows what," it isn't difficult for me to cry out to God, to my "Papa." I cry out to Him a lot, I think that because I turn to Him and His name is the first one I call that I am doing the right thing, but I think sometimes to me, "Papa" just means whatever it is that will bring relief to me.

“Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city.” (Psalms‬ ‭31:21‬)

Just like Rosie asked for Papa, but was perfectly content when Mama came, so I cry out for God, and stop crying out as soon as relief comes.

The problem with this is it causes me to see God as someone I can call for and He'll help me when I need it, but the rest of the time I'm fine. When I am content with less than Him I never get to know Him deeper, which really is the only thing that will satisfy my longing.

Probably more than 50% of the time, Rosie didn't actually want "Papa." She wanted comfort, but to her 16 month old mind, that's what "Papa" meant.

Unfortunately, I think a lot of the time we are the exact same way. We think we want God, we call out to God, but we don't really know what it means for Him to come to us. To be Himself the answer to our prayer, not just to lend us a hand. A lot of the time, we just want comfort, but in our minds, that is what "Papa" means.

“This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;” (Matthew‬ ‭15:8‬)

What if we really just wanted God?

What if He really answered that prayer?

Would I be content if Jesus was the ONLY thing I could lay claim to in my life?

When every comfort and every pretence is laid away, would we really be content with "Papa?"

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” (Psalms‬ ‭27:4‬)

It is challenging for me to think this way, because I have never known what it's like to be without everything else. Honestly, I think I'm more dependant on the comforts of my life than I realize, but I pray that God would change me, call me closer, and show me in that moment when I move a little bit closer to Him, that I haven't reached Him yet. I need to keep going.

“You have said, "Seek my face." My heart says to you, "Your face, Lord, do I seek." (Psalms‬ ‭27:8‬)

But as you ask the question, "Would I really be content with NOTHING but Him?" (Which you should ask yourself, because it shows you how much you love Him vs how much you love what He gives you) And you realize that at the root of that question is, "Is He worth it?" Realize that when He asked the question, "Are you worth it?" His answer was yes, and He DID give up everything just to be close to you, just to know you.

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans‬ ‭5:6-8)