This Much…

I am writing this while sitting in an airport in Doha on my way to Uganda to serve on mission. We had an extensive layover—twelve hours, to be exact. With all of this time here, I realized that Doha is a predominantly Muslim country. I saw many Muslim prayer rooms and women fully covered, wearing hijabs. I even walked by several people on their knees, facing toward the Kaaba in prayer. I saw little Jesus here.

So I grabbed my Bible and openly spent time with my Father. I am walking through Genesis right now in my quiet time, and today I was reading Genesis 32 about Jacob being afraid of his brother Esau.

So he called out to God to protect him from his brother. Just a few passages before this, God had made Jacob a promise that He would bless the entire world through him: “In you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 28:14). But here we are, just a few passages later, and Jacob is calling out to God, saying, “Protect me.” I am Jacob in this passage. Jacob, like me, cannot comprehend God’s promise to him. It is beyond us. At first, I thought this was a lack of trust, but then I thought maybe he was asking his Father to reassure him.

As His child, I do this too. I say, “Father, tell me one more time.” I am asking Him to come close to me. Jacob, although he knew his Father’s promise, asked the same thing: “Father, reassure me one more time.”

I remember when my children were little, I would ask them, “How much do you love me?” They would, in turn, spread their arms as wide as they could and say, “This much.” In their little minds, that was the best representation of their love for me. They would even ask me, “Daddy, how much do you love me?” I, in turn, would spread my arms and say, “This much.” That normally led to me grabbing them and embracing them. I was reminded of this during my quiet time today because that is exactly what I asked my Father to do. “Lord, remind me one more time. Assure me one more time of Your promises.” So I walk up to Him, spread my arms wide, and say, “Lord, I love You this much.” He, in turn, spreads His arms and says, “Chuckie, I love you this much.” I, like my children, am in awe of the love His arm span represents. His love is as far as the east is from the west. And that is why I ask. I want to see it again. I want Him to tell me again.

I want to be in awe of my Father’s love for me. I want Him to embrace me.

My hope this week, and every day after that, is that my arm span truly reflects my love for my Father, just as His does for me. I do not want to hold on to anything that would prohibit me from spreading my arms as wide as I can to show my love for Him and for those He has sent me to embrace. My challenge for you is this: If God asked you how much you love Him, could you spread your arms wide and show Him? Would anything in your life prohibit you from answering this question fully, with your arms opened wide?

Today, will you join me in telling Him… this much!