The Perfect Dad

And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”  Galatians 4:6

Some of you know that my daughter gave me my first grandchild last year. Andrea is now almost 15 months old and the joy of my life. But my daughter recently told me that she had no idea she could love someone as much as she loves Andrea. She lives and breathes to make sure this little girl is safe, healthy, loved, and happy. I smiled and nodded. "Yes, that's the love of a parent for their child."  I believe it's the greatest love on earth and the most unconditional.

I don't know about you, but there are times I wish I was a kid again. Let's face it, being an adult isn't all it's cracked up to be. Stress and responsibility and worries creep in to steal away the freedom we thought we'd relish in when we grew up.  If you grew up in a loving home, you felt loved, cared for, all your needs were met, many of your wants were met, and you felt safe and secure. You had no worries. You trusted in your parent's love and you knew they'd take good care of you.

My pastor put it this way:  There's no one else who could wake you up at 2 am in the morning asking for a glass of water or a hug besides your child. Not even your spouse could illicit that kind of sacrificial care. We parents want the best for our children and would do anything for them. They don't have to beg us for food, clothing, or shelter. They don't have to plead with us to help them with projects and school work and playtime. They don't have to beg us to sit with them and hold them and listen to their sorrows and concerns. We want to!!

For me, it was hard to connect this kind of love with God. I didn't have a father, not a good one anyway, so God as father was a hard one for me to swallow. But over the years, I've come to see that He loves me even more than I love my kids. (That must be a ALOT!)  And like a good parent, He wants the best for me.  He is our Abba, our Daddy, our Father. He wants us to crawl into his lap, into his embrace, and talk with Him. Or just hang out with Him.  We don't have to ask Him to feed us or keep us safe or provide for us. He wants to! He already does! 

Then why do we worry? Can you imagine your 7 year old daughter tossing and turning all night worrying whether you (as her parent) were going to feed her the next day or make sure she had a blanket at night?  That would never happen! Kids trust the love of their parents. I can't remember a single time I didn't trust my mother to feed and clothe me. Not once.

Yet God is our Father. He has adopted us into His family. We are His kids and He loves us with the perfect love of a parent! His love is even more intense than ours. Also, where we are sometimes powerless to always provide everything for our kids, He has the power to do all things!  So, we have a Father who loves us even more than we love our kids, who is perfect and good and holy, and who is all powerful. Hmmm.

So why do we worry?  The more this concept gets inside my spirit, the less I seem to worry about anything.  Cancer, job loss, heartache, prodigals, health issues, money problems, loss of a loved one.... do you think God can't handle these things?  Do you think they caught Him by surprise? Do you think He doesn't already have a plan to help you?  He's your father!!  His answer may not be the one you want or the one you asked for.... but it will be the answer you would have wanted if you knew everything God knew about the situation. 

But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

I need to work on this too!  I need to approach God as a child would a Father, a child who trusts her Father completely and who knows He will protect and provide. How pleasing this would be to God, instead of my usual whining and pleading. 

You are a child of God!  We need to get that through our heads!!  We are His children, and as such, He will always love us and take care of us. If we can truly come to believe that, we will find all our worries scurrying away.




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