03/15/2022
This is such a powerful image of father and daughter. I also imagine a backstory. A person failing again and again, wondering if they will ever see what they are hoping for. Persisting not just because of inner resolve but also from the external cheers from a host of people who love her unconditionally, who will cheer every failed try with gusto, all the while ready to explode with praise for the rare moment when it finally comes together. And that makes me think of our great cloud of witnesses, both people on earth and in heaven. People who believe is us when we can’t. And of Jesus and the Spirit, who intercede for us, pleading our case, advocating for our best outcome. And God, described as a mother who comforts her child (Isaiah 66:13) and a father, who lovingly lavishes us with good gifts (James 1:17). The Apostle Paul, via the late Eugene Peterson, puts it this way: Hebrews 12 1-3 “Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit . . . . Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!”
