When Worry Goes Grateful

Being a parent is a wonderful but fearful thing.  Your level of anxiety increases because you no longer worry about just the two of you.  You worry about your child.  Even healthy, easy-going people of strong faith worry about their kids:

• You worry they will be healthy
• You worry they will be safe
• You worry they will be good students
• You worry they will be accepted
• You worry they won't be bullied
• You worry they don't make your mistakes
• You worry they will choose good friends
• You worry about their faith development
• You worry they will pay attention and study
• You worry they will realize their dreams
• You worry they will know peace
• You worry they will graduate
• You worry they will find meaningful work
• You worry they will find love
• You worry when they struggle in relationships
• You worry when they become parents

And then you have grandchildren and you get to do it all over again!

Imagine what God must have felt when He gave His one and only Son?  He knew he would be born in humble and less than desirable circumstances.  He knew His earthly parents would have to flee the country in fear of their lives.  He knew the perfect child would be a challenge for imperfect earthly parents.  He knew the religious leaders wouldn't like Him.  He knew many would find His Son a threat to their way of life.  He knew Satan couldn't wait to come after Him.  He knew His child would be ridiculed, wrongly accused, arrested, beaten, bruised and murdered in the most humiliating of ways.  You talk about parental worries and anxiety!

Yet, despite all of those realities God did not waiver.  He did not worry.  He sent His Son.  He sent Him because He worried about you and me.  Okay if you don't like the idea that God worried about you and me use the word, "concern".   He worried we would continue to drift even farther away from Him without a heavenly intervention of epic proportions.  He knew we couldn't continue to do the same rituals over and over while expecting an eternal outcome.  He knew we would worship the rituals and make them our God.  His concern for the destiny of human souls trumped His parental worries.  He knew it was the only way to save us.  Now that's irony-----that the only way to secure our future and satisfy His parental concern for  the human race was to relinquish His parental authority and give up His one and only Son!  (John 3:16-17)

If I'm honest I have to admit that I often worry I'm not honoring God's great gift.  I struggle with the fact that my actions and attitudes often betray His grace gift, just like the Israelites of old.  Long after His birth, Jesus would remind us that worry can't add a single moment to life.  He urged us to take note of how God takes care of lesser aspects of creation.  And He reminded us how much more important we are to Him!  Our response should simply be gratitude.  By living with thanksgiving to God we honor His Advent gift of Jesus.  And living with gratitude is not easy because it means we are more focused on others and God than ourselves.  Authentic gratitude is found in the serving of others in Jesus name.   So don't worry be grateful!