Come to Me

Three simple words. I say a variation of them (come here) to my youngest many times a day. I say it when he is upset and needs to calm down. I say it when he needs a hug. I say it when he is acting up and needs to listen and learn. I say it when he is approaching danger. Come here. It carries a slight different meaning depending on the situation, and my tone usually reflects that, but at its root it always means I am here for you. Let me help you.

The good news is that God is always and forever saying the same thing to us: Come here. Come to me. His tone may differ too, depending on our circumstances and what is keeping us away, but he is always and forever holding out his hands to us and saying, "Come to me."

Come when you are grieving.
Come when you are depressed.
Come when you are drinking too much.
Come when you are angry.
Come when you hate yourself.
Come when you hate your mom, your kids, your sister, your friend.
Come when you are hungover.
Come when you are eating too much.
Come when you want to hurt yourself.
Come when you have burned your bridges.
Come when you are trying to control others.
Come when you are failing a class.
Come when you are thinking about texting your dealer.
Come when you have betrayed your spouse, your friend, your brother.
Come when you have no one else to go to.
Come when you are desperate.
Come when you are in debt.
Come when you are sad.
Come to me.

When kids are little, many issues can be resolved with a hug and a snuggle. You disobeyed me? Let's talk about it while I hold you. Someone at school hurt your feelings? Let me hold you. You're angry and frustrated? Sit with me and tell me about it. Physical closeness fosters emotional closeness and keeps little ones safe, in many ways. When kids get older, that physical closeness wanes, and sometimes the emotional closeness does too. In the space between, things spring up that appear to be in the way of regaining that closeness. This happens between us and God too.

But God goes the whole way for us. He has closed the gap. Turn your head. He is right there.

Turn to him in your depression. Come to him in your failures, betrayals, loneliness, and losses. There is no disqualification. That's why the pharisees hated Jesus so much. They were more interested in seeing people disqualified than connected.

My youngest did something wrong the other day--the kind of thing that requires a lot of teaching and correction. But before any of that, I just wanted to hold him, to let him know it was safe to tell me, to let him know that the connection between us is stronger than mistakes or bad choices.

Come to me, God says. It's an always and forever invitation, and we don't have to do anything or fix anything before we show up.