How to become real ∙

How to become real ∙

Long ago, the LORD said to Israel: I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love, I have drawn you to myself. – Jeremiah 31:3

Zephaniah 3:17 For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will shout for joy over you.”

“The Velveteen Rabbit” is a classic British children’s tale penned by Margery Williams in 1922. The story starts when a stuffed rabbit, sewn from velveteen, is gifted to a young boy on Christmas. He is given several other presents that are modern and mechanical. The boy plays with his other new presents and forgets all about the Velveteen Rabbit.

The oldest and most experienced toy in the nursery is the Skin Horse. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by and by, their mainsprings break, and they pass away. He knew they were only toys and would never turn into anything else.

One day, the Rabbit curiously asks, What does being REAL mean? “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”

“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”

“Does it hurt?” inquires the Rabbit.

“Sometimes,” replies the Skin Horse honestly. “But once you are REAL, pain doesn’t bother you anymore.”

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up?”

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real, you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

“I suppose you are Real?” said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the Skin Horse only smiled.

“The boy’s uncle made me Real,” he said. “That was a great many years ago, but once you are Real, you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.”

The Rabbit is taken aback by this idea, doubting his chances of becoming REAL. However, one night, the boy’s Nana replaces a lost toy with the Rabbit for the boy to sleep with. From then on, the Rabbit becomes the boy’s most cherished toy, accompanying him on spring picnics and becoming an integral part of his life. The boy considers the Rabbit as REAL. Time passes, and the rabbit becomes shabbier but happy. He became REAL because of love.

Do you see yourself in this story? Are you the young boy, the uncle, the Skin Horse, or the Rabbit?

In reality, we might identify with all four of them in some way. I envy the Skin Horse, but I am probably more like the Rabbit, yearning to become REAL.

The Father God resembles the uncle: older, wiser, and having loved His children for a very long time.

REFLECT & PRAY

“God rejoices over you, though He knows you are in the process of becoming all that He has planned for you to become . . .. God is patiently molding and shaping you into the image of His Son” (Stanley).

Father, thank You for loving me with Your everlasting love and drawing me to Yourself. Thank You for taking particular delight in me. You literally shout for joy as You embrace me in Your loving arms.

INSIGHT

Jeremiah 31:3 I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have drawn you with lovingkindness to myself.

The Father, in His boundless love, gently draws us closer to Him. While this makes us children of the King, it doesn’t make us real. To become real, we must experience His love for a long time. Much like mechanical toys, many of us seem to break easily, have sharp edges, or require a lot of special handling. In reality, He has been “handling” some of us for a long, long time. Some of the rough edges have been smoothed out. We have received a few dings, but we have not been shattered. Over time, we start to love His tender touch and accept His warm embrace.

But there’s more.

The Father desires to make Himself known to us in an extraordinary way. Wherever we are, He wants to be right there in the midst of it all. In fact, He is.

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.

But there’s even more.

Zephaniah 3:17 For the LORD your God is living among you . . . He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

This verse expresses the Father’s feelings towards the children of the King. He takes “delight” in us, which could be translated as “He will be very happy with you” (UBS). “The great God not only loves his saints, but he loves to love them” (Matthew Henry). God takes great delight in loving us because we are His very own” (Jerry Bridges).

The phrase, “You will rejoice over us with loud singing,” could be translated as, “He will sing and be joyful over you” or “You will make his heart full of joy, and he will sing loudly” (UBS). He is so delighted that He shouts for joy!

Imagine being at an athletic event, rooting for your favorite team. Your team wins the game, and you get ecstatic. You shout, cheer, and literally jump for joy.

Now, picture yourself at an airport, witnessing close friends, family members, or a long-separated couple spotting each other. They rush towards each other, radiating exuberance of joy and happiness. They embrace, dance a little, and perhaps a tear or two trickles down their cheeks.

The Tanakh, the Jewish translation of the Old Testament, renders Zephaniah 3:17 as “He will rejoice over you and be glad, He will shout over you with jubilation. He will soothe with His love.” Bathed in His love, He cherishes expressing His love for the children of the King.

Have you begun shedding any fur yet?

What a charming portrayal of how the Father makes us Real.

The Father takes personal delight in us. He is not remote, indifferent, or merely satisfied in a stoic way. There’s no emotionless contentment. Instead, He bursts into a joyous divine celebration: He rejoices over us with loud singing (ESV Notes).

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© Dr. H 2024