We Belong Beside Him

I would cringe when I heard myself say the words, “Do you want to help?” I knew what I was actually inviting. Longer work. Messier work. And the hard work of exercising a lot of patience.

When my son was a preschooler and sweetly called from his toy train tracks, “Mommy, will you play with me?” a hundred times my answer was, “Not right now, baby. Mommy needs to wash the dishes.”

Or fold the laundry. Or clean the bathroom. Or any of the tasks that seem to undo themselves almost immediately after a parent finishes them.

His little head would fall forward until his chin met his chest. Then his bottom lip would slowly push out until it folded down into the cutest puffy pink pout. Seriously, the most adorable pouty lip in the whole world.

I don’t know if that lip appeared unconsciously or if he knew he possessed the one expression capable of turning me into absolute mush while also plunging a knife into my heart.

Eventually, I matured. A tad. I graduated to a new response: “Mommy LOVES to play with you. I just can’t right now.” 

There. That was better. I was sure that would help him feel loved and valued. I had developed an excellent new parenting strategy.

Then he replied, “But, Mommy, just play with me for ONE minute. One minute is not long!”

Crap.

He had plunged the guilt knife straight through my awesome new parenting theory.

Eventually, I matured a tad more and tried something different.

“Mommy is washing the dishes…but do you want to help?”

A beam of pride spread across his little face! He popped up from the floor where he had been pushing his trains, pulled his shoulders back, lifted his chin, and grinned from ear to ear.

He got to help, and it was by my invitation! That last part meant the most.

When I invited him to come along beside me he felt empowered. I had the pleasure of watching his heart fill with the understanding that he belonged beside me, and that he was trusted to help me in the work of our family and home.

Did it make the work longer?
Muuuuuch longer.

Did it make the work messier?
So much messier.

Did it test my patience?
Heck yeah, it did.

I did not invite him because I was incapable without help, or because He was capable - he definitely was not. I invited him because of what could be formed inside him as he came along beside me.

Perhaps this gives us a small picture of how Jesus worked beside His disciples.

He did not invite the disciples’ to come along beside Him because He was incapable, or because they were capable. Yet He continually invited them into His work, gave them responsibilities, welcomed their questions, corrected their misunderstandings, and let them learn through imperfect attempts. 

I’m certain that sometimes things took longer and were messier with their help. 
But unlike me, Jesus’s invitation never comes with a cringe.

With every road walked, every person served, and even every mess made, He knew what He was forming them for. 

After His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, He would entrust to them the work of God’s family and Kingdom. 

It was not through training that they were being transformed, it was by the love of His presence beside them.

God invites us to come along beside Him because He loves us. Our efforts may be messy. Our understanding may be incomplete. We may occasionally splash the spiritual equivalent of dirty dishwater across the kitchen floor. 

Still, He invites us beside Him. 
Even if we make a mess.
We belong because we are His.
We belong beside Him.

When I invited my child’s little hands to the sink, it was never about doing the work. Yes, it was about formation, transformation, preparation, all the good -ations. But really, truly, more than anything I could ever hope or desire for my child…it was because he is mine, I love him, and I desire to have him near. 

I hope my son always knows that he belongs beside Jesus. Because he belongs to Him, He loves him, and He desires to have him near. If he believes all that to be true, he’ll be transformed by the love of Jesus’s presence - for his good and for God’s glory.

I’m thankful Jesus invites me and my messiness to come along beside Him. So many times He has had to mop up my splashed dirty dishwater.
But in His faithfulness He never leaves my side. In His grace He cleans up my messes.
In His power He empowers me.
In His patience He transforms me.
In His loving presence He provides the peace of belonging. 

No matter what kind of mess you think you’ve made…
You are His.
He loves you. 
He desires to have you near. 

Jesus is inviting you beside Him.
Even if you feel like a mess. 
You belong because you are His.
You belong beside Him.