I got fired once and they made the right decision.
I was a horrible employee. The work I did was lazy, my attitude was belligerent, and I somehow managed to be cocky at the same time.
So they called me into a room and fired me.
It was a humiliating experience, and you know what the worst part of that failure was?
I didn’t get a gift.
Not one single person responded to my failure with a gift.
Nobody threw me a party or gave me a new coat or showered me with jewels.
I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right: I have some loser friends.
Why would I expect that reaction to failure? Because that’s how God acts throughout the Bible.
Have you ever noticed that?
People fail and God responds with love and a gift.
Take Adam and Eve for instance. They failed and hid in the bushes in clothes they had made. In response, God sacrifices an animal and gives them new clothes.
I don’t know how great Adam and Eve were at sewing. Maybe their clothes were ridiculous. Maybe they had an ETSY account before anyone else and they dominated Eden’s version of Pinterest, but chances are God’s clothes were better. The garments he personally made for them were better constructed.
And he just gives the clothes to them! Even as he ushers them out of the garden, it’s like he can’t hold back his love.
Fast forward: Cain kills Abel and God touches him with his mark of protection.
Then Abraham lies about his wife and tells the king that’s his sister. What happens when it all comes out? God tells the king and the king showers Abraham with riches.
Then the prodigal comes home and he gets a party.
Is God a failure ATM, doling out whatever we want? Nope, not even a little bit.
But he is the guy who throughout the Bible gives failures second and third and 50th chances.
Come out of the bushes. Stop wearing clothes you made in shame. There’s a father who wants to give you something pretty amazing. It’s the gift of forgiveness.
