The Infinite Patience of God

Another lesson God showed me through Sammy: Tonight he and I were out in the yard playing. I was laying next to him in the grass when He ran up by my head and decided to use my ear as a chew toy (there will be blood). In between trying to get back inside to stop the bleeding (who knew ears bled so much?) Sammy got a spanking and was made very aware that what he'd just done was not ok.

I shut him in the mudroom for a while (given how much he loves being with us, it's about as effective a punishment as there is). A while later I went down to see him. Now, maybe it's my imagination but I think he was genuinely sorry. He was all kisses and snuggles without a hint of his usual playful but painful biteyness. About fifteen minutes later we were outside again and, sure enough, he decided to bite at my fingers. Sammy is a very smart dog but apparently he also has a very short memory.

I don't know how long it's going to take Sammy to figure out that biting is not a good way to have fun and play. But I know that however long it takes I'm going to love the little guy regardless of whether or not my ear is covered in blood.

If I, flawed and imperfect as I am, can have that kind of love and patience for Sammy how much more is that true of God's relationship to us?

It's easy to get caught up in the magnitude of our sin and in part there's some truth there. When we diminish or deny our sins we're invariably headed for trouble. But once we've been adopted into God's family, He doesn't look at us and see nothing but sin. When I look at Sammy I see a great puppy who I love to death, not the bad puppy who ripped into my ear. When God looks at us He sees the good work He's began and is faithful to complete. He sees us turning to Him and being transformed from our sins. And, because God is outside of time, He sees the day when that transformation will finally complete and our sins will be nothing but a distant memory lost amidst the beauty of Aslan's Country.

That's what makes it possible for God to be patient with us day after day, year after year, decade after decade. We're so prone to forget. How many times have each of us found ourselves repenting one moment and almost the very next turning back to the very sin we just repented of? But God's patience and love are so much more powerful than our forgetfulness.

I know it grieves God when we do wrong, and I don't want to appear to deny that. But I think the joy he feels as we let ourselves be transformed by Him is so much greater than the grief. I believe He feels unimaginable delight when simply turn to Him and say, "I know how stuck I am, please deliver me, transform me."

Even when God reveals Himself in moments like this one tonight with Sammy, I can still only wonder at how immense His love is. It's so much greater than our sin and it's the only thing capable of bring real deliverance and transformation. He wants us to let Him love us into a new creation. He's patient and merciful and faithful to complete that good work.