Saving Seats
My grandparent heart crumbled. When one of my grandchildren recently described an ongoing occurrence of seats being saved BY others—but not FOR him—he had to search elsewhere—my spirit ached for him.
We’ve all experienced the relief, when after arriving at a crowded event, we find that someone was looking out for us. They thought of us when they got there and saved us a seat. We’ve no doubt been both the recipient and provider of the saved seat. Both of these feel good – whether the seat is saved BY us or FOR us to intentionally include.
Conversely, when the seat’s saved BY others and FOR others to intentionally exclude—then not so much.
Hopeful and eager to be welcomed—only to discover that seats were saved to reject us rather than accept us, wounds crush our hearts and convey lies: “I’m not wanted.” “I’m not likeable.” “I’m not___, not___, not ___, not . . .”
Thank God that HE has written a different story—one with the BEST news—the “good news” of Jesus Christ “for all the people” that tells us we all ARE loved (Luke 2:10, NIV).
Sometimes I’m guilty of passing over familiar verses. Sometimes I think we’re all guilty of this. But, when hurt hits home and happens to a child in your life—which is the MOST hurtful, despair has a way of turning us back to foundational truths—the truths of our own childhood.
John 3:16 is one of those verses to me. It’s the verse I don’t ever remember NOT knowing. It’s the verse from VBS, from Sunday School, and my home. It’s the verse I need now more than ever—not only for myself, but SO THAT I can pass it on to my grandchildren.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (emphasis mine).
God—the all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present Creator—whom “nothing is too hard for” (Jeremiah 32:17) . . .
LOVED: HE loved—“he first loved us”—"While we were still sinners” (1 John 4:19; Romans 5:8)!!! He loved so much he gave his ONLY Son. To give one in 10 sons would be unthinkable, but the ONLY one??
THE WORLD: EVERY child—the unpopular, the quiet, the wild one, the boring one, the one on that side of town and the one on this side of town, the one who thinks he has everything to boast about and the one who thinks he has nothing to boast about. The WORLD!
WHOEVER: Whoever believes in HIM has a seat saved—just for them.
Yes, God is saving seats—far more than a “seat at the table” with the decision-makers, far more than a with a group of popular kids who like you today—but maybe not tomorrow, and far more than a good view for the school concert.
God’s love guarantees a life-long seat in the home He’s preparing for those who believe.[1]
I mean, who loves like that? God does.
His saving grace is saving us a seat. We only need to gratefully accept the seat and join the group of sinners all saved by grace. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
Saved by Grace = A Saved Seat
= Everlasting Love. Beyond February, beyond Valentine’s Day, Beyond this temporary life.
[1] John 14:1-4