God said, “I love you so much, and I am so proud of what you’re becoming. It’s going to change you, make you more than you ever thought possible.”
And we laughed.
“We will grow in our relationship together, and a sign of that will be a piece of skin you cut off for me.”
And we laughed, nervously.
And we made the sign of this covenant.
But we resisted change, We wouldn’t live the covenant.
So God said, “I love you so much, and I wish you could see what you could become. So I’m going to change more than you ever thought possible. Loving you has changed me.”
And we gasped.
“We will grow in our relationship together, and a sign of that will be how I die for you, how I let you destroy me and kill me.”
And we argued: God cannot be a loser.
And God insisted losing it all was the only way to win it all.
And we followed . . . at a distance . . . and we died to our old selves . . . sometimes . . .
. . . and, when we did, there was a whole new life . . .
. . . and so, we . . .