NO!

McBaby is almost a year now... and the word of the day is: No!

No eating kitty food. No biting Mommy's leg. No chewing on tissues. (Can you tell she's teething?) No pulling hair. No standing in your highchair. NO SCISSORS!  (Baby-proof fail.) 

At this point, she's only learning what the word means--and developing a sense of consequences. She hasn't yet used the classic kid-response to being told no: "why?" That phase has its challenges. But, in some ways, it will be easier when she knows there is a reason I slap her hand away from the light socket.

Hopefully my baby will appreciate the boundaries when she finally sees the whole picture.

This makes me wonder if God (the world's most infamous "killjoy") experiences delight--maybe even relief?--when one of His children finally "gets it." After centuries of Thou-Shalt-Nots and gaining a reputation as a mean, needlessly-authoritarian Father, do you think He celebrates when one of us recognizes His love?  Does He shed tears of happiness when we say, finally, "Thanks, Dad, for caring enough to save me from myself"? 

It's easier to understand all of God's "no-nos" if we believe they exist for our good--even if we don't comprehend the specifics about why. Certain things harm our souls due to spiritual laws, the same way gravity pulls on my baby if she crawls toward the stairs.

On this video, Dr. Timothy Keller parallels the spiritual and physical laws when he answers the question, "[Why] Do you believe there is only one God and only one way to approach him?" at roughly minute 11:40.

"If Jesus is who he says he was....and if he was our original Creator, then of course there would have to be just one way to God; our souls would need Him, or they would shrivel eternally just like my body needs food, or it would shrivel."  

So, when Jesus said "I am the Way," He wasn't just being intolerant. He said "no" to self-salvation and "no" to the idols we chisel for ourselves because we literally don't know how to care for ourselves.

He said "YES" to our restoration.

As a mother, I want to help Cami abide by both physical and spiritual rules--so I repeat no, no, no, no, waiting patiently for the day she understands the reason. (And begins saying "no" to herself.) In result, I'm saying "yes" to "avoiding electrocution" and "yes" to "breath that doesn't smell like IAMS."
And I thank God He cared enough to say "Yes" to the cross.

P.S. Friends, if you've never heard Timothy Keller answer questions from skeptics before, click on the above link. That's not a suggestion; that's an order!  :)