Close to the Cheek

I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love.  To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them...I am God and not a human; I am the Holy One and I am among you.  I will not come against you in anger.  Hosea 11:4, 9

In Hosea, the Israelites were just being AWFUL....the word the writer used to describe the way in which the Israelites behaved means “purposefully rebellious.”  They purposefully were going out of their way to do exactly opposite what God wanted.  Embarrassingly, I find myself purposefully doing what I ought not all the time.  Purposefully picking a fight with my husband because somehow I think proving myself right would feel satisfying.  Purposefully sharing a juicy morsel of gossip because I want someone else to know I am in the know.  Purposefully.  And yet God treats them- me- with “human kindness.”

Human kindness.  What does human kindness mean?  It seems to me that human kindness means treating people in a way that appeals to their human selves...meeting their physical needs AND their physical desires, meeting their emotional needs AND their emotional desires.  I know we talk a lot about how God does what’s best for us...what we really mean when we say that is that He does stuff that quote on quote “builds character” but actually makes us miserable.  I don’t think that’s Him.  He does allow us to experience consequences of purposeful rebellion, but what He gives us is not crappy gifts, but good gifts.  A husband that’s kind AND good looking.  Dinner that fills our belly AND tastes good.  A friend that listens well AND is fun to be around.  A relationship with Himself that is intellectual AND emotional.

I like that God makes a point to distinguish himself from humans.  Even though He’s mad and sad at the Israelites, He refuses to come against them in anger.  Wow.  That’s a rather spectacular promise.  God will not come at us in anger.  Period.  It makes all the “sinners in the hand of an angry God” talk seem a bit off mark.  Because our God is not human and isn’t bound to our human vindictiveness.  Our God holds us close to His cheek- even when we are awful.  I know all about that “close to the cheek” business.  The best part of every day is holding Everette close to my cheek- smelling her milky baby breath, petting her downey barely-there blond hair, tickling her chubby little toes. I have explosive affection for this kid- Mama Bear “I just want to sit around and make her smile” affection.  And that’s how God feels about us except for on a much grander scale.  

A Revelation

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands…These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Revelations 7:9

I was trucking along at an easy pace through chapter 7 in Revelation:  John sees people holding palms…worshipping…yadda yadda…Isn’t nice all these people are worshipping God.   But then all of a sudden it dawned on me- John had seen this scene before- maybe fifty or so years earlier when Jesus was walking into Jerusalem.  He had seen this huge crowd waving palms and worshipping Jesus- and three days later he had seen the same huge crowd shouting, “Crucify him.”  All of a sudden I began to wonder if for John, seeing crowds wave palms wouldn’t be a warm fuzzy moment, but rather a PTSD, “I hate those backstabbing, fickle, cruel nincompoops and want them to suffer” sort of moment. 

It’s interesting to me that the elder pulls John aside and asks him if he knows who they are.  John answers with an all-telling, YOU know.  You know that they are my enemies.  You know that they are dirty.  You know that they don’t deserve to be here in the throne room.  Yeah, that elder knows.  That elder knows because he immediately reminds John that these people have been cleansed- that Jesus has washed their robes and made them clean.

As I’ve mulled over the text, I’ve come to decide that perhaps the Left Behind series isn’t necessarily the last word on Revelations.  Instead, Revelation seems to be the story of humankind- the cycle of chaos and sin, judgment, and then healing and restoration.  Humans sin, God issues judgment (tribulation) for a time, and then all are brought into a place of repentance and restoration. The word tribulation comes from trībulum- a threshing board.  We all experience the threshing board as God separates the chaff from the wheat in our lives, in our thoughts, in our values, in our loves.   If it looks like things are bad- if we feel like our heads are being whipped against the threshing board- we can rest assured that it is not yet the end of the story. 

It’s funny – not funny humorous but funny because it’s the same place I get stuck- to see John not comprehending the fullness of God’s restoration.  I am full of snitty commentary about those around me- I have my opinions of who should or should not receive mercy.  But that’s not how God works.  Revelation 7 is about the Greatest Re-Do in History.  Those who once betrayed Jesus are welcomed back into His presence.  The elder reminds John- and me- how it works- there’s healing for everyone.  Which is a lucky thing because it turns out I would fall into the category of “person who had betrayed Jesus.”  Which a lucky thing because it means I too am privy to the cleansing, the healing, and the restoration.