Does God give hugs?

Is there a specific sin that seems to reappear at different seasons of your life?  A sin that hate more than your other sins because you are frustrated at the allurement, and seemingly hold, it has over your soul.  A sin that you hate and despise because it reveals without a doubt how weak, helpless and wicked your heart is when left to itself.  This past week I have been dealing with such a sin in my own life.

Sunday morning I woke up before the rest of my family and went through the motions of getting ready for church.  I was mentally tired because I had been going in circles in my mind trying to analyze this sin.  Exhaustion had taken hold because I knew this sin, and this sin revealed my wickedness more than any other, and intellectually I knew I needed to repent (to turn from my sin and turn to Christ).  But I was frozen because although I wanted to turn from this sin, all I could see was how angry, upset, disgusted and frustrated God was that I was again dealing with this sin.  So I wiped away my tears and tried to focus on the next task at hand.

Our family arrived at church and we began dropping our boys off at their Sunday school rooms.  My older son didn’t want to go so we had a hard time dropping him off at his room.  He clung to me, embraced my leg and pleaded, “Mommy, I want to be with mommy!”  My husband graciously stepped in and helped both me and my son out.  I was thankful I had sunglasses and I put them on to hide the tears that again started to fall.  Trapped mid-way in the repentance of this ugly sin only made me yearn for someone to embrace me, to love me, and hug me despite at how wretched my heart really was.  And here my son was embracing me and I had to remove him from my leg, even though all I wanted was to hold him tight and cry.

Once our boys were checked into their respective rooms my husband and I began go up the stairs to our own adult Sunday school class.  My husband said it was particularly crowded that day so we most likely wouldn’t be able to sit together since we were a little late.  Still sulking in my sin, I wondered why we were even trying to attend church if we couldn’t even find seats?  But once we arrived in our class my husband said he’d stand in back so I could sit.  An usher found me a seat, which providentially was surrounded by three good friends.  One by one each of the friends sitting near me smiled widely, greeted me by name, and welcomed me with a hug.  For the third time that morning I began to cry again and quickly pushed away the tears as I repeated in my mind “oh please don’t hug me, I am an emotional mess and if you hug me all tears will break loose into an embarrassing episode!”  I was able to control my outward display of emotions and made it through the rest of the class.  But midway through the class I began to find myself daydreaming and wondering “Does God give hugs?”  Is that biblical? 

Finally it was time to attend the main service.  As my husband and I settled into the pew I flipped open the church bulletin and saw the title of that morning’s message, “The Passionate Pursuit of the Love of God.”  My heart lifted and I began to wonder if this message would minister to my hurting heart?  The pastor said it was adoption Sunday and his message was going to be about our adoption as children of God.  He opened by reading a letter from a man recounting his own adoption experience.  The lack of affection, loneliness, fear, and longing for love he had as a child—contrasted with the pursuit of love he received by his adopted parents, the embrace and affection he longed for he received through adoption in the declaration of his adopted parents crying out, “I want him!  I’ll take him!”

The pastor pointed out there are two different ways to view our relationship with God.  One is through justification, whereby we are justified (made righteous) through the forgiveness of sins and restoration with God.  In this view God is judge, declaring us guilty or not guilty.  The second way to view God is through adoption, whereby we are brought into a family relationship with the God of the universe.  Adoption is a family term, full of love and affection and is a majestic display of God’s love whereby we are included and drawn in.  In this view God is our “Abba” (a term of endearment, our Daddy).  My husband helped me further by telling me another way I can look at it is that justification is a one time act, it occurs once and it is finished!  But adoption is our ongoing relationship with our Savior and Lord!  Trapped in the ugliness of my sin I was fearful to turn to God because I viewed Him as judge, angry and vengeful.  Yet, He is my Abba Father longing to draw me in with His affection and love.

Tears began to fall for the fourth time that morning when I realized that God does give hugs!  The picture of the passionate pursuit of God’s love is pictured all throughout the Bible.  One picture is seen in the story of Ruth.  Ruth who is a Moabite woman, a despised and forbidden woman is pursued and drawn in by Boaz and his love for her.  Another picture is seen in the story of Hosea.  Hosea was a prophet that God told to pursue and marry a harlot, a woman who was wicked and unfaithful Hosea pursued and loved—all in order to display the passionate pursuit of the Love of God!

My spirit was lifted!  I was no longer trapped.  Instead the truth from the Word of God caused me to turn.  And when I turned I saw my Abba Father, my Savior and Lord running to me (wretched and ugly with the stains of my sin) eager to embrace me with His love.  God heard the prayer of a sinner and drew me in and embraced me with His love.  I got the hug I was looking for.