The other day I was driving in my car with the radio on when the song "Hot 'n Cold" by Katy Perry came on. This is normally a song that I would jam out to, but oddly enough I had a different thought occupy my mind.
The first thing that came to my mind when hearing this song was human relationships with Christ. I know that might sound super weird, so hear me out. I was really only focusing on the main idea of the song. The song is about a relationship in which the person being sung about sends all sorts of mixed signals to the singer.
I couldn't help but to ask myself, how often do we send mixed signals to Jesus?
We identify ourselves as Christians, go to church on Sundays, and say our prayers. Maybe some of us do more and maybe some of us do less. Regardless, I am fairly certain we have all sent mixed signals to Jesus at one point or another.
A classic example could be the "retreat high." A retreat high is when you go on a retreat and do so many things to strengthen your relationship with Christ, and then you come back feeling, shall I say, "hot" from the retreat. You continue to do these things but, eventually, you cool down as you get caught up in your job, school work, or social life, and so your relationship with Christ becomes "cold."
After retreats we often forget to prioritize the relationship with Christ that we promised ourselves we would continue to build. Imagine how confused Jesus must feel when we become so close with him, and then let ourselves drift away.
I think that sinning can also be a way in which we send mixed signals to Jesus. We know Jesus as our Savior and our Lord, as well as our friend. We praise him and we worship him, yet we fall to sin time and time again.
This makes me think of my job as a camp counselor. Coming back to camp after taking a few weeks off, the kids that I work with all gave me welcoming hugs and told me they missed me. Then, they return to their childish ways and break rules and struggle to listen to me. These kids unknowingly send me mixed signals all the time, but I love them anyway.
We do the very same thing to Jesus every time we sin, but he loves us anyway, and unlike the love we understand as humans, he loves us perfectly.
That's one of the amazing things about Jesus. We can be that person Katy Perry sings about when it comes to our relationship with Jesus. We can be hot then cold, yes then no, in then out, up then down. But does Jesus hold this against us? Does he ever stop wanting us to be his friend? Does he ever stop loving us? Not even a little.
His love is never ending, it never runs out of patience, and it is always ready to forgive, no matter how many mixed signals we send his way. Jesus' love is perfect.
