May
29
2020
A Visible Kiss
Posted in Repentance 4 Comments
My granddaughter is on the verge of walking.
She pushes a shopping cart around to walk wherever she wants to go.
She cruises along the furniture.
If she attempts a step on her own, she realizes what she is doing and begins to crawl.
She will crawl when she wants to get to something quickly.
You can do it, we say over and over.
She will do it, soon enough.
Until then, fast crawling is her preferred method of movement.
I was snuggling with her, giving her Grandma hugs.
She giggled when I pretended not to let her go.
Before she was released, I kissed her on the head.
She crawled off to play with a toy just out of reach.
As she crawled past me, I looked down at her blond hair.
There was a faint tinge of my lipstick on the top of her head.
I thought about wiping it off with a tissue or paper towel.
However, it was so light, I knew that it would come off later in her bath.
I thought of that visible kiss on her head on my morning walk.
My walk was cut short because a misty rain began to fall.
The misty rain matched my spirits.
I was saddened and burdened by the senseless death of a man.
I had heard about his death before I read any news reports.
I heard about an eight minute video that someone took of his death.
I heard about the police officer’s knee on the man’s neck.
I heard that the man repeatedly said, I can’t breathe.
I can’t breathe!
I struggled to breathe as I learned more about what had happened.
I was sickened by the blatant evil.
I was angry.
I thought of all the pictures I had seen from antiquity depicting a battle.
The victor always had his boot on the neck of the one he conquered.
I never liked those kind of pictures.
There was no dignity for the one lying on the ground.
I decided that I would not watch the eight minute video.
But the video was everywhere.
It took me all day before I watched only a portion.
I could not take much more than that.
The pictures from antiquity flashed through my mind.
A knee on the neck.
A plea for breath.
No dignity.
I thought of my granddaughter.
I thought of the visible kiss on her head.
I thought of George Floyd.
He had a kiss on his head, too.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them…the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 1:26,27 and 2:7)
Each one of us is made in the image of God.
We are all Image Bearers.
We all have the kiss of God on our head.
We all have the breath of God in our nostrils.
We cannot see into the heart of another person.
However, Jesus said that what we do to the least of these, we do to Him. (Matthew 25:40)
George Floyd is an Image Bearer.
Kneeing George Floyd in the neck is the same as kneeing God.
I came in from my walk and saw a large carpenter ant in my laundry room.
I went into the bathroom to get a tissue.
I picked up the ant and squished it.
I squished it good.
I opened the tissue to make sure the ant was dead before I threw it in the trash.
I saw the squished ant.
I thought of George Floyd.
I cried.
Riots are happening in Minneapolis in response to the death of George Floyd.
Evil was paraded for eight minutes before our eyes.
Evil parades in front of our eyes on any given day.
The enemy thinks he has won.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel. (Genesis 3:15)
That is a battle picture I long to see.
I long to see the Lord Jesus with His foot on the neck of the enemy of our souls.
Until then, we struggle as we live in the now and not yet.
The enemy will one day be crushed by our victorious Savior, the Lord Jesus.
Until then, there will be debates and political rhetoric.
There will be anger and demands for a murder charge.
There will be more division and hatred.
And the enemy will laugh; and the enemy will think he has won.
Do we see the kiss of God on the head of every living person?
Do we recognize each person as God’s Image Bearer, precious and dearly loved?
Do we realize that our first breath is the one God breathed into us?
Do we understand that no one has the right to take the life of someone God has created?
I can still see the tinge of lipstick on my granddaughter’s head.
I can still see the squished ant in the tissue.
Do I see the image of God in every person I come in contact with each day?
Do I remember that whatever I do to them, I do to Him?
I want to sit and cry a while.
I need to cry over the sinful brokenness of the world.
God declared, Good, over all that He had made.
God declared, Very Good, over the man and woman He made in His image.
Very Good.
With the kiss of God on our head.
With the breath of God in our nostrils.
Image Bearers, who carry around God’s concealed dignity.
Each and every one of us.
Thank you Gina. You manage to put into words the vague thoughts and feelings that I walk around with. You bring clarity and you encourage me to pray by doing so. God hears our prayers in Christ and wants us to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him.
Oh, Paula, thank you for the encouragement. If my words consistently point others to God, then I am so thankful. Micah 6:8 is a perfect way to sum it up. Amen.
Gina
Miserere nobis, O Pater, O Father, have mercy on us. Your Word still speaks. Thank you, Gina. His Word still speaks, convicts, makes new, grounds and propels us.
Amen, my sweet friend!
Kindred spirits, you and I.
Gina