Toddler Tuesday: Sticky Fingers

    My little boy wanted to give me a hug and kiss before I left today.  He reached out with fingers full of strawberry jelly from his toast, but he saw my hesitation.  He paused and tried to figure out whether he should wrap his arms around me or not.  I kissed him on the forehead and patted him on the back, trying not to leave him hanging.  While it’s cute to see pictures of kids with sticky fingers, it’s an entirely different matter to clean up the mess… especially if it’s all over your shirt as you are headed out the door!

    Our love for our children doesn’t push them away because of their daily messes.  As they get older, their daily messes will likely be more serious than a little bit of strawberry jelly.  The last thing we would want to do is leave our children uncertain about whether or not we love them, or whether or not we could forgive them. 

    As always, our heavenly Father is the best at this.  Jesus taught us sinners, with all the sticky messes of our sinfulness, to approach God as our heavenly Father, trusting his mercy and forgiveness.  The writer to the Hebrews tells us why he could say this:  “We have one (Jesus) who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16). 

    Are your hands sticky with the mess of your sins?  Are you hesitant to reach out to God because of it?  Are you unsure of what God will say to you?  Take heart.  Because of Christ, you can approach your gracious God with confidence.  His forgiveness is real and true. Through Jesus, God did not hesitate to embrace us with all of our sticky messes of sin.  He didn’t just get a little of our mess on himself, but all of it!  Then, he didn’t just wipe up our messes, but he cleansed us completely.  Approach his throne of grace with confidence.  He loves you.