When I am away from home for an extended period of time, Baxter misses me. I know this because of the way he waits for my return. When I pull my car into the garage, turn off the engine and lower the garage door, the next thing I hear are the plaintiff meows from the other side of the kitchen door that leads into the house from the garage. I call out Baxter’s name and tell him through the door that I am home. But the mournful meows aren’t satisfied. Until I open the door and find him sprawled on the floor ready for a belly scratch, he keeps up the racket. His message is a mixed one; part scorn at my leaving him, and part melancholy from missing me. Whoever thinks that cats are unattached, independent and unfeeling creatures simply don’t know Baxter and his kind. Even with all the comforts of food and water, a safe and warm shelter, windows to look out, and soft spots to lie, Baxter needs company to be happy and content.
God does too. When from His loving freedom God created us, He committed Himself to a relationship that became part of His life. I know that is hard to believe, but it is true. And to seal this relationship and show how true to it God will be, He sent His only Son to become one with us and save us. This bond was costly, for Jesus died to save us from sin and death. But no matter the price, God would pay it, not grudgingly but freely and generously, like a loving parent would do anything possible to save his or her child’s life. God saved us in Jesus for eternal life, for life with Him forever. No one is left out of this divine embrace. God wants each and every human being to share His life without end. He goes out of His way like the Good Samaritan or the Father of the Prodigal Son to bring us into the circle of His life and love. And He never quits trying to get us back home to His Kingdom where we belong. Even from the cross, Jesus saved the good thief and reached out to Mary, His Mother, and the beloved disciple to unite them in His love.
But we are often the problem here. On the one hand, we may try to convince ourselves that we don’t matter in the big picture of God’s salvation of the world. How could He care about little, insignificant me? How could He not? We are each made in the divine image with a unique part to play in the drama of salvation. No one can take another’s place, just as no child can replace another child in a family. We are each important to the Father of us all. On the other hand, we may allow our guilt at being away to prevent us from coming back home. We get down on ourselves for our past negligence, our carelessness, our selfishness, our sin, so that we can’t stand to hear the divine cry, “I miss you!” Forgiveness and healing are God’s response to our waywardness. Not just our salvation, but God’s happiness is at stake in all this. Recall the scripture passage, “there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
I will let you in on a little secret. It is not just Baxter who misses me when I am away. I miss Baxter. That is how it works when we are connected in life. Likewise, I bet that deep down we miss God when we are away from His ways for a while. Creator and creature are both melancholy when apart for too long. The door is open. Walk in and greet your God Who is ready to embrace you. There’s nothing as great as a personal reunion after a long time away.
