My youngest grandson is two. Almost since the time he learned to walk and talk, he would come up to you, look at you with his big brown eyes, hold out his arms and say, "Hold you?" How can you refuse an offer like that?

I do hold him, every single time he asks, because I know from the experience of my three children and three older grandchildren that these days will not last. There will come a point where he is too big, too cool, and too independent to be held by his Pops, so for now I enjoy the moment.

I think in many ways, this is the relationship that God longs to have with us. Not the "too independent" phase, but the innocent phase where we realize that we need Him and that it would be nice to just let Him carry us. Here is the offer that He made to Israel during the time of Isaiah the prophet. I believe the offer still holds true today for those who will just take advantage of it:

See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

Isaiah 40:10-11, NIV

Isn't that a marvelous picture? God is willing to gather us like little lambs and hold us close to His heart! It is an incredible privilege that He offers to all who will listen, and for a while we are more than eager to take Him up on that offer. But for all to many, something happens. Perhaps we think we are just too big, maybe we are just too cool, or maybe we just become too independent to the point that we don't think we need Him to carry us around anymore. Whatever the circumstance, it is tragic, for when we no longer feel the need to be gathered up in the arms of our loving Father and be held close to His heart we lose out on one of the greatest comforts that we could ever know.

In this world that has become a bit too fast paced and more than a bit too mean, isn't it nice to know that God is still there with His offer to "hold you".

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