A Father's Love

Higher than the highest heavens— that’s how high your tender mercy extends! Greater than the grandeur of heaven above is the greatness of your loyal love, towering over all who fear you and bow down before you! Farther than from a sunrise to a sunset—that’s how far you’ve removed our guilt from us. The same way a loving father feels toward his children—that’s but a sample of your tender feelings toward us, your beloved children, who live in awe of you. Psalm 103:11 -13

In the heart of every person is the longing for a father’s love.  Even if we have never experienced the love of a father, we have an unquenchable longing for a father’s love.We long for a father that protects, empowers and champions us in every stage of life. There is something deep inside the heart of every person that desires a father who accepts them. We desire someone that really knows us without the masks and is aware of our brokenness and yet calls out strengths in us that help us overcome the obstacles of life.

Our Heavenly Father loves us like this - completely and unconditionally. Our Heavenly Father watches His children intently to encourage them, not to chastise them.  He sees our first step towards Him, when we reach out a hand to trust Him. He sees our victories no matter how small.  He understands success in a way only a father can.  Our Heavenly Father only disciplines us because He wants what is best for our lives, not because He demands submission or wants to invoke fear.  If He wanted to have that kind of relationship with us, our Father would not have given us free will.  He wants us to freely respond to Him as our loving Father. 

If you have never experienced a measure of a father’s love in your life, it seems logical to shut down your heart to your Heavenly Father’s love.  Often we don’t want to trust our Father’s love, because the only ‘love’ we have experienced is harsh, demanding or neglectful.  Rejection has caused us to shy away from the Father. Our real fear is that we are not good enough for our Heavenly Father or worse yet, that He would see our imperfection.  We are afraid to trust our Father’s love because we fear rejection again.  We are fully aware of our sinful humanity.  And yet, He looks at us and says, “How can I unite us?  How can I embrace my child and make her feel loved, cherished and safe?” 

The foundation of trust is the understanding that God will not and has not rejected us.  He does see our faults, our sins, and our failures.  But He has no desire to throw them in our faces.  He wants to forgive us and to forget our sin.  Because He is sinless, holy and pure, we might identify Him as a self-righteous father waiting to reject us because of our past experiences.  However, He cannot be this kind of Father without contradicting Himself.  According to His Word, self-righteousness is sin.  Our Heavenly Father does not have our perspective or human filters.  His filter is pure love.  And He will not reject us! The truth is our Heavenly Father sent His Only Son to die on the cross to cleanse us from our sin.  Why would He do that?  Because He wants to champion us, protect us and empower us.  Through Christ, He forgives and forgets our sins when we humble ourselves and repent. He is the loving father that we desire.  He has already proven through His sacrifice, that He will not reject us. The question is, will we reject Him?

As believers, our faith is stunted if we do not embrace the Father’s love. He has made every provision possible, just to have a loving, intimate relationship with us. When the Holy Spirit makes this revelation known to us, we are set free to live empowered lives, filled with meaning and purpose.  And we can embrace our Father, because we know He loves us and will champion us.  
You are no exception!  He loves you, cherishes you, champions you and adores you!  Press in, draw near and embrace your Heavenly Father today! There is nothing He would want more.

But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.Romans 5:8