I am a first time father, at age 34, to a 3 month old son named Elliott Lewis, who has impacted my life in many ways.  He smiles and frowns with no more than the blink of an eye between.  He doesn’t really laugh yet, but he can cry like nobody’s business.  You would not believe the volume and outstanding force that’s behind any number of bowel movements each day.  I have to say that this is quite impressive and gives me much pride. 

My beautiful wife, Christie, has adapted remarkably to motherhood and part of that is nursing our son, Elliott, which is weird and wonderful all at the same time.  These are just a few things of many that are part of my initiation to parenthood.  Christie and I take care of this little person, meeting his every need, loving him whether he realizes it at this point or not.  He can’t even choose to accept or appreciate our love, but does that determine whether or not we love him?  Absolutely not!  We love him and do what is best for him no matter what.  How can a little person that doesn’t do anything but eat, sleep, and poop bring his parents such incredible joy?  I’ll tell you …smiles.  When he smiles at me I am overwhelmed, and nothing else in the world matters.

At that moment we connect in a way that is truly indescribable.  The pure joy I experience is that which only a father can find in his child.  What an incredible picture, although small in comparison, of the astonishing joy that our heavenly Father must find in His son Jesus.
I believe that my view of God is due largely to the way my parents raised me.  Our relational functions and dysfunctions naturally carry over into my relationship with the Lord.  And I often wonder, do I have a warped understanding of God?  Well, what I realize over and over is that yes, I do have a warped and distorted understanding of God and in this lifetime it will always be this way to some extent.  But thank the Lord for Jesus, and grace, and mercy, and forgiveness, and I could go on but you get what I’m saying.

I have come to realize how crucial it is for me to strive to love Elliott the way Jesus loves me, not the way my own understanding dictates, but rather the way the Scripture dictates.  My prayer for Elliott is that he would see Jesus loving his imperfect, undeserving father and someday see Jesus loving him in the same way.

In the last few years I have been thinking a lot about worship.  If we are to worship God with our lives in everything we do, then we better understand what worship means. Worship is what we are created for.  It is our purpose in life.  If in fact we are created for worship, then we have no choice but to worship.  The word “worship” is defined as giving something or someone worth or value; to hold in high regard; idolize; honor; glorify.

As a believer in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, worshiping 24/7 translates into finding the truth of this Gospel in everything, good times and bad times, when we see the fruits of our labor as well as when we don’t.  I believe our Father in Heaven, longs for our worship and even craves it.  As I look at Elliott and crave his smile, I think, what an incredible picture of what God must feel like when His children smile at Him.  As much as I crave smiles from my son how much more does our Father in Heaven crave smiles from us?

© 2006, Todd Bragg.