Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:6-11, emphasis added)

Recently, during a Sunday morning worship service, I had a profound realization as I watched my youngest son finish his snack and, without hesitation, immediately hand his trash to my wife, without even looking at her. Initially, I was tempted to intervene and remind him that his mother is not his personal trash can. However, as I was leaning over to whisper that gentle reminder to him, the Holy Spirit convicted me, and I gave him a kiss on the head instead.

This moment became more than just a parenting decision. My temptation to reprimand him for offloading his trash onto his mom reminded me how sweet it is that he knows she will deal with it appropriately. While we desire to raise our boys in the discipline and instruction of the Lord and train them up in the way they should go so that when they get old, they will not depart from it (Ephesians 6:4, Proverbs 22:6 - my rough paraphrase and compilation of these two verses), we also desire for them to gain developmentally appropriate independence from us as parents. This is primarily because we know that our boys truly don’t belong to us but to the Lord; they are image bearers of the one true King of all His creation. In this moment, God also graciously brought to mind the thousands of projects, Lego creations, papers, handmade presents, flowers, bugs, rocks, sticks, and other cool things that our boys bring to show us or give us as gifts.

They do this because they know we love being reminded of their excitement and joy, and that when they share things that mean a lot to them, it means even more to us! Not only do our boys bring their trash to us to deal with, but they also love to bring us their treasures — this is because they know we love them, and care for them, and we are their parents — no one else is as close to them as we are, and we love them unconditionally.

This is pretty similar to the way we are instructed and invited to interact with our Heavenly Father (Psalm 62:8, Philippians 4:6, Hebrews 4:16, John 14:23, John 15:13-17, 1 John 3:1-3, Romans 8:12-17 - just to name a few). There is a beautiful paradox at the heart of our faith: our Heavenly Father is infinitely great, yet also intimately close. While God is not our personal garbage man, he does invite us to bring him our trash. Likewise, God is our Heavenly Father, and he delights when we offer all of ourselves and our efforts to him as our rightful praise and worship of him.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2)

This kind of whole-self offering is met by a Father whose compassion toward his children knows no limit. 

The Lord works righteousness
    and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
    his acts to the people of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
    nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
    nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
    so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
    he remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103:6-14, emphasis added)

So bring it all to God. Bring Him your trash and your treasures, your anxieties and your ambitions, your failures and your finest efforts. Bring Him the thing you are most ashamed of and the thing you are most proud of. He is not a distant deity waiting to be impressed by your spiritual performance. He is your Father, and he already knows your frame, remembers that you are dust, and yet, He loves you with a steadfast love as high as the heavens are above the earth. This is only possible because Jesus, the eternal Son, became dust like us, himself — taking on flesh, bearing our trash on the cross, and rising so that we could be welcomed not as servants but as children. The invitation was purchased at infinite cost, and it stands open. Cast your anxieties on Him. Pour out your heart to Him. Present yourself to Him. He cares for you, and there is no one else as close to you as He is.