"Who's Your Daddy?"

"He reached down from on high and took hold of me; 

he drew me out of deep waters. 

He rescued me from my powerful enemy, 

from my foes, who were too strong for me. 

They confronted me in the day of my disaster, 

but the LORD was my support. 

He brought me out into a spacious place; 

he rescued me because he delighted in me."

— 2 Samuel 22:17-20 —

"if we are faithless, 

he remains faithful, 

for he cannot disown himself."

-2 Timothy 2:13-

"So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

- Romans 2:3-4-

Have you ever heard of a ragamuffin? The urban dictionary defines it as a grimy dirty little urchin or waif with ratted greasy hair. Usually female. I read a book called "The Ragamuffin Gospel", which I highly recommend. The book was written descriptively about the struggles and trials of the author's life. Anywhere from being a drunkard to living on the streets. You name it, he did it. He was not female, but he was nonetheless, the perfect description of a ragamuffin. What I loved most about his story was his ability to recognize God's presence in midst of his brokenness, which saved his life. Fortunately for him, God used someone along his path to pull him up by his bootstraps and set him on the straight and narrow path again. 

He began his life as a pastor. He knew the Way, the Truth and the Life. He preached it every Wednesday and Sunday of the week. Somewhere along the way, among the harshness of life we can all face, he gave up on God and picked up a new desire.There were days, in his drunken stupor, after losing his family, career, and ultimately his life as he knew it, he would stay intoxicated around the clock. He no longer cared about his family or their cries for him to stop. He could no longer hold a job, so he was forced to the streets. He no longer had a will to live, or care about the things of life, so cleanliness didn't matter. Every dime he could collect went towards feeding his habit. Food was the last thing on his mind, so he starved by accident. But, somewhere in the midst of his smelly, disgusting, starving life he had a Friend. 

He grew up with a man who had known him his whole life, the good and the bad. When everyone else closed the door on him, this man walked in. He didn't preach to him while he lay helplessly drunk under a park bench. He didn't give him an ultimatum to sober up. He made him lunch everyday. He was there, rain or shine, sitting next to this man he once knew loved the Lord, preached the Word, and walked it out. He never used a condemning word. He never brought up days of old where they served the Lord together. He just loved on him. 

Now that is friendship. It's loving people when they are unloveable. It's reaching out to them in midst of their suffering, knowing your hands are going to get dirty. It's exactly how God loves us. He sees us in our struggles, our addictions, our bondages. He rolls his sleeves up, gets down in there with us, and pulls us out. Not by preaching to us, but by his kindness. Never in my life, among my many times of turning away, did I ever come back to God on basis of a "hell, fire and brimstone" message. It was always through God loving on me in some way. Sometimes it was through a friend who cared enough to ask what's going on. A pastor who gave a testimony of his real life and struggles, helping me realize there was hope. And som

etimes, God himself would speak to my heart in such a loving way. More often times than not, those times were followed by amazing dreams and visions he'd give me about his love for me. 

I'm so honored to love a God that loves me in the depths of my unfaithfulness. A God who will always snatch me back from the hands of my enemy. A God who is not ashamed to roll his sleeves up and come in find me in the muddy trench I've barricaded myself in. And He does all of this...because He delights in me! If you are, like I have been many times, down in that pit right now, trust that you've got a God who is rolling his sleeves up as we speak, and coming in after you.

If He's your Daddy. He's not giving up on you, whether you give up on him or not...