My wife and I were blessed with our son about 15 months ago. I was never one of those guys who really enjoyed interacting with babies. However, once you have a child of your own, something happens inside you, and you love them and enjoy being with them. I often find myself saying to him, “Hey, Dad loves you. Yes, he does.” I can hardly help but say I love him.
I wonder if God does the same for us. Is he saying each morning, Dad loves you? I believe He is. He loves my son far more than I do and loves each of us far more than we are loved or love ourselves. I don’t know about you, but I find it hard sometimes to believe God loves me or at least to feel it in my heart. A friend once told me that we know God loves us, but do we believe He really likes us? If we as earthly fathers want to be with our children, how much more does God want to be with His children and tell them He loves them?
I believe the devil loves to distort our view of God and to make us think that if we are not perfect, then He doesn’t love us. I still love my son even when he is not perfect. Sometimes I must scold him or even punish him, but my love for him doesn’t change. Love first starts with God. I John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” I John 3:16a says, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.”
Let us ask God to pour His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Romans 5:5 says, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
May we rejoice in our loving, heavenly Father.
-Austin Musser