Our daughter Jordan is twenty-three. She’s a nurse at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, TN. People’s lives are in her hands. We’re so proud of her, especially during this global pandemic. Yesterday, on a FaceTime call, she said, “Mom! Dad! Let me show you this orangutan that I drew!” She pulled out her iPad and showed us the artwork of her orangutan.
We were delighted. Just as delighted as the day she was in third grade and brought home a bowl she made of clay. “Mom! Dad! Let me show you this bowl I made!” We still have that bowl.
The same is true with our son Jacob. He’s headed to the University of Tennessee on a full-ride scholarship. We’re so proud of him. This Sunday he is singing two solos at St. John’s Episcopal church during the mid-morning service. We will sit in the pews, with masks on, beaming. Just like we did the day third grade Jacob came home with a house he’d made from clay. We were delighted.
We love what our children make because we love our children. Every recital. Every sports event. Every art project. Every report card. Every concert. Every graduation. We love them all because we love our kids. Our adoration of their creations is rooted in our devotion for them.
John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, drills down on this truth and applies it to our love of God:
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God … 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. (1 Jn. 4:7, 20 ESV)
There is an inextricable link between the two great loves of life. We love people because we love the God who made them. Each human is a visible representation and manifestation of the invisible God. In our kitchen, Kendra and I still have those third-grade clay creations of our kids. Even when our children are gone, those visible handiworks remind me of them. They still stir my heart every time I see them. Similarly, we adore the invisible God, and thus we adore every visible thing he makes–especially every amazing, unique and radiant human being. They are each the creation of the Creator whom we cherish. These visible handiworks remind us of Him.
This is why we cannot say “I love God” and then treat any part of his masterpiece with disdain. Praying or singing or writing or confessing “I love God” and then acting oppressively or unjustly toward another human out of racism, sexism, ageism, xenophobia or homophobia–or silently assenting to such action–makes us, John says, a liar. But saying “Black Lives Matter” or “God Loves Gays,” protesting the dehumanization of people of color or the subjugation of women, voting for policies or politicians that stand for those disenfranchised or discriminated against, assisting those who are in need, showing care and compassion, giving grace and mercy–these are the natural responses of someone who loves God and thus loves all whom he has made.
