Cue the Spiritual Analogy

I was lecturing my son on the way home from a birthday party last night and when I got to the zenith of my pontification and paused mid-breath, my sweet husband interjected: "Cue the spiritual analogy!"

Why, yes!

You see, at this party, there was a fantastic inflatable water slide / splash pool / bounce house, and it was teeming with happy kids when we got there. My little boy wanted to do it, but fear or pride held him back. I know him, and I knew how much fun he would have, and so I asked him to trust me and get in. When that didn't work, I forced him to put on his swimming suit (cue tears in the bathroom) and I not-so-gently coaxed him to give it a shot. It took mere seconds for tears to evaporate into laughter.

I waited for the "I told you so" moment until we were in the car, although I hinted at it several times previously.

You guys, I love being right.

More than that, though, I love to see my son be filled with joy, laughter spilling out of every fiber of his being. I love to see this so much that I will force his swimming suit on through tears, and I will throw him down a water slide despite great protestations and more tears.

And, cue the spiritual analogy.... You see it, right?

While I did the dishes tonight, I listened to Psalm 90 (aside: did you know that you can listen to Max McLean read the ESV at biblegateway.com? It wasn't that long ago that I was super cutting edge because so had the whole Bible on CD, filling up a big binder with CDs). Verse 14: "Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days."

This is not the only verse in the Bible about filling us up with joy in Christ; you can't flip a page in the Psalms without seeing something about joy or satisfaction, hungering and thirsting for God, just because being near him is the most satisfying and delightful thing we could do. God knows this better than anybody else, and he is not content to let us stand on the side of the waterslide in our street clothes. He loves us so much that he's going to do what it takes to get our swimming suits on and to get us down that slide, even if it takes an unceremonious dumping to get us started.

Friends, don't miss out: put on your own swimsuit and jump in. I recommend Psalm 90 or maybe Psalm 63 for getting your toes wet.