Mandolins
What does God think of my life? How does He see it? Am I a disappointment to Him? Is He sitting on His throne shaking His head and sighing as I stumble through these days? Well, first of all... I know there are probably people who have told you that God is an impossibly hard-to-please critic who sits up in glory scoffing and frustrated at your pathetic attempts at righteousness. I remember being made to feel that way and it sucks. Not only that, it’s not true. The Bible is clear in about a kabillion places that God delights in you. You are the apple of His eye and He doesn’t even sleep, but just watches you all the time. He’s head-over-heels crazy about you. He knows who you are and knows all about your stumbles and struggles. He wanted you anyway and is going to make sure you get to where He has planned for you to be. So, no. God’s not a disappointed cosmic critic. He’s a daddy in love.
So, the question remains, what does He see when He sees me? What does He feel like when He watches me live my life?
Well, check this out: last night I saw one of my favorite musicians live. Christy surprised me with tickets to see Chris Thile and Michael Daves at the Square Room in Knoxville. It’s a small venue where you are literally standing a few feet from the stage and the musicians. These cats played old-school bluegrass without being plugged into anything. They just stood in front of one mic and killed it for two and a half hours. It was face-meltingly great. Now, if you don’t know, Chris Thile is (without any argument or debate) the best mandolin player on planet earth. He’s about 30 years old and he’s been the best there is since he was 12. No lie. He’s a freak show and then some.
The thing that was so cool about last night was that there was a dude in the audience named Lynn Dudenbostel. Now, I know you’ve never heard of him (and most people at the show didn’t notice him being there) but Chris Thile knew it. You see, Lynn Dudenbostel made Chris’ mandolin. Thile plays Dudenbostel #5. The creator of that mando was standing right there in the audience watching and listening as his beautiful work of art was center stage all night. Now, know this: when Thile plays, he has a blast. Period. It’s all laughs, shouts, fun and energy. I guarantee you that nothing made Lynn Dudenbostel more happy than seeing his creation up there on stage having the absolute time of its life, being everything it was meant to be.
God made you. God loves you and there’s nothing He wants more than to see you being the you He made you to be: living your heart out, filled with life and meaning and joy - loving Him more and more. He’s at work in your life to bring you there. He loves watching you become that. He loves who you are.