This song is one most, if not all, of us know very well. “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”. Just mentioning the song has many of you singing it right now.  Like many children, my daughter, when she was first learning the song, replaced some of the correct words she could not remember, with something else so she could continue the song.  In her case she added the words “whumpa whumpa”. Here is how it went:

“The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout.

Down came the rain and washed the spider out.

Out came the sun and dried up all the rain.

And the whumpa whumpa spider went up the water spout

Down came the rain…..”

The effect of this addition was, it created a closed loop that never reached an ending. On long road trips, this became quite annoying for her brothers who had to sit in the back seat and hear the never ending song. Eventually, eliciting a desperate plea to “make her stop!”

It’s funny how we now look back and cherish some of the annoying things our children do because it is part of what has made them uniquely who they are today.

As fathers we sometimes add a “whumpa whumpa” to how we live our lives.

Physically, emotionally, and spiritually we add a “whumpa whumpa” and get locked into a never ending loop of responses, actions, reactions, thoughts, and etc. This “whumpa whumpa” causes those around us, as well as us, to become frustrated with the way our lives are going.

We keep doing the same things over and over without seeing any change in our lives. In fact, like the siblings in the back seat on a long road trip, we find ourselves digressing into destructive or argumentative behavior and not growing in a positive way.

Many of the American Indian tribes believed that life is a great spiral beginning at birth and ending in the afterlife joined with the Great Spirit. The expectation was always that what you see today you will see again in the future. The trick is that as you complete each circle, in life, you should not be seeing things from the same perspective. You must see things from a higher vantage point or you are not moving closer to the Great Spirit.

If we use our Father God as our example of perfect fatherhood, we will find ourselves constantly searching for new pearls of wisdom to become better fathers. As we seek we will learn more about our Father God and be drawn closer to Him. Thus we will spiral ever closer and as we complete each circle in life, we will see the past in a different way,

Like when we look back on the annoying actions of our children and cherish them as part of what makes them uniquely who they are, we will be able to look at the things we face today and cherish them, no matter how bad they seem today, as what is forming us into better fathers who are more aligned with the perfect Father God.

Do not allow the “whumpa whumpa”, in your life’s moments, to lock you into a never ending loop of immature fatherhood.

Break free and climb the water spout again.

Mark 1:40 – 41…..A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”

I find myself often speaking to Him in the imperative when I pray:

“Lord, help me.”

“Lord, make this right.”

“Lord, forgive me.”

As I filter these requests through the leper’s approach, they suddenly sound more like commands to me. I wonder how they feel to Jesus?

These words come from years of familiarity with Jesus. Familiarity is supposed to be a good thing. It should feel like a great shirt that you would never get rid of, even though it has holes in it and the color faded about a thousand washes ago.  I’ve known Him since childhood. But the problem begins when my reliance upon Him degenerates to a degree of expectation.

In a new relationship you don’t know what to expect. So, everything comes as a request. Would you like to go to a concert? Can we have a cup of coffee? Will you talk a walk with me? The sense that your new friend exists as an autonomous creature sits strong with you.

In time, we tend to allow this “newness” to wear off and, without realizing it, become obligatory in our approach.

A growing relationship can grind to a standstill when you become too familiar. People like being new. They want to receive an invitation, not a list of requirements.

The Gospels tell stories that show this dynamic between Jesus and His disciples. He would say something and their response, though innocent, came across as rude, abrasive, and commanding.

Jesus told them once that He would be persecuted soon and then die. Peter responded, “Not if I can help it.” To which Jesus snapped back, “Get behind me, Satan!” Ouch.

Jesus understood where Peter’s words had come from. He knew that Peter loved Him deeply. He heard the fear and dependence in what Peter had said. So, why did He give such a sharp reply?

Maybe he said it to dislodge Peter out of over-familiarity with Him. Of course, Peter would never have expected the Lord to call him an adversary. Jesus was showing Peter by his command how Peter had sounded to Him.

That’s why it’s so sweet when this leper comes to Him with no expectations. He knows Jesus has the ability to chase away this disease forever, but he knows better than to demand a cure. You can see the respect that flows through his approach.

Though Jesus knows my heart, I know I’ve been rude. I want to treat Him with the newness He deserves. I want to speak in requests and not imperatives.

How about you – have you stopped long enough to hear how you address the Lord in your prayers? Maybe you have become overly-familiar with Him?

Let Him remain new.

Most of us probably pray this prayer a couple times a month maybe even a couple times a week. Without “as”, it’s just a request for God to forgive us and to forgive others who have wronged us. But Jesus so cleverly inserted the word in the middle of this sentence. Why would he do that? Well several reasons. One being to remind us that we are all sinners on the same common ground no matter what our trespasses have been. My sin is just as bad as the sin of the other driver, my boss, my teacher, my mother, my wife. All of us share the same curse, the same disease that only he can cure. Another reason Jesus would insert this word is to remind us to walk humbly every day. I’m sure most of you are familiar with Matthew 7:3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” or maybe Romans 3:10 “There is no on righteous, not even one.”

Jesus goes on in Matthew 6:14-15 to say, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” I find it interesting that Jesus would end this passage by explaining just the meaning of the AS. Why not the rest of the prayer? I think it is because it wasn’t so much of a cause an effect statement, but more of a measuring stick. It also gives us a glimpse of what the heart of God is like. Jesus didn’t require anything from us when he laid down his life. He did it out of love hoping that we would follow his sacrifice and take up our cross daily. In the same way he wants us to be so close to his heart that we can easily forgive others without recourse. So close that forgiveness is a natural habit in our lives. A force more powerful than our daily commute, our spouses’ annoying habits, the mistakes by our government, or the actions of a thief or murderer. Read it again but this time read it through the eyes of self-examination and not an outline or staple to Sunday service. I think you may find that it will change your walk, and give you a more intimate view of the best friend I could ever imagine.