Tenting  

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”

The Apostle John

My two boys could hardly wait until night fell and we got the tent set up. I had been promising them for a week that we would camp out in the backyard together–just a guy trip, Jacob told his mother. So there we lay…Listening to the sounds, telling stories. Soon they drifted off and slept snugly all night.

I like the relational metaphor. In Exodus, God told the Israelites to build a tent and he would literally come “tabernacle” among them. In the same way, Jesus came in the flesh and “tented” among us. This is fatherhood: living in the middle of the family, wrapping his strong arms of protection, encouragement, goodness, and love around his children.