KITTY PICTURES
When my granddaughter Kylie was two, she handed me the drawing depicted above. "What is it?" I inquired.
She enthusiastically replied, "A kitty."
I immediately shot back, "That doesn't look like a kitty! If you can't do better than that, don't even try!" Of course, that's NOT what I said! At the age of two, she had done her best, and wanted to bless me with this masterful work of art.
Instead, I took one look at it, and replied, "Oh honey. Thank you. It's beautiful!" Lifting her up, we marched over to the fridge and ceremoniously displayed the masterpiece for all to see.
How often do we bring God our "works of art" (good deeds, etc.), convinced that we've done something really great for Him? Yet my very best efforts have a strange resemblance to Kylie's "Kitty." But does that matter to our Father? No. The Creator of the Universe, takes one look and replies, "Thank you my child." Hugging us, he places it on His "fridge."
God doesn't need our "Kitty pictures.". He desires our hearts; our devotion to Him. In Psalms 51:16-17, David writes, "The source of your pleasure is not in my performance or the sacrifices I might offer to you. The fountain of your pleasure is found in the sacrifice of my shattered heart before you. You will not despise my tenderness as I humbly bow down at your feet.” (TPT)
It wasn't the quality of Kylie's art that touched me. Her heart was stirred and she presented me with a gift...and my heart was stirred because her heart was stirred. Long ago, her picture ceased to inhabit the domain of our refrigerator. But I still possess it, and on occasion, I pull it out to remember her gift. It puts a smile on my face as I recall her love. I'm confident our Lord does the same with our "kitty" pictures.
Ponder:
In what ways might you get caught up in the trap of religious performance (trusting in my "kitty pictures" to earn God's love)?
How can your offerings to God flow out of your identity in Him?
Lord, thank you that your acceptance of me is not based on me 'getting it right'. Help me to step into the joy of serving you out of love.