Not long ago I read a booklet, “Knowing Aslan,” that spoke profoundly to me about God’s love: “Every time you snuggle under a warm blanket on a cold night, God is loving you. Every time your daughter hugs you, she is passing on God’s love. You find his love in the taste of a hot breakfast, the caress of a breeze...”
It’s easy to see the wonderful, amazing things in life as love gifts. But let me tell you, it’s much harder to see the difficult and downright horrible things in life as gifts. I have heard of people referring to their cancer as a love-gift from God, and I’ve been skeptical. After all, if I could zap into oblivion every renegade mutant cell from my body, I would gladly do so.
But one Sunday, I realized I am (closer) to the point of being able to say, “Lord, if my cancer is a tool you have used to draw me closer to you, than I am willing to see it as a gift from your hand.” How could I see something in my life that brought me closer to Him, and made me seek my identity and comfort in Him, as anything less than a gift from my gracious Father? No, cancer isn’t a gift that comes wrapped in pretty paper and a shiny bow, the kind you just can’t wait to open. Instead, it’s been wrapped in doctor visits, needle pokes, tears, and a lot of fear. Yet despite this, I’m still in awe of all the reminders of His love.
Can I encourage you that if you don’t have a personal relationship with the Father, you will seriously consider His offer to make you His own? No, He doesn’t promise that things in this life will be easy. But He does promise to never leave you or forsake you. He does promise that one day He will make all things right. He promises to one day wipe away every last tear from your eyes. He loves you so much He sent His only Son to die for you. He’s made every ray of sunshine, every star-lit night, every good thing in your life, to be a reminder of that love. All you have to do is accept the gift.
This article originally appeared in the Winter 2011 issue of EPM's quarterly newsletter Eternal Perspectives.
Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash
