To Be With Us...

I will never grow tired of seeing such pure joy in my children’s eyes as they experience the simple pleasures of childhood. All too often I find myself getting “caught up” in the stresses and responsibilities of life and adulthood. I forget to slow down and enjoy life through the eyes of my children.

For example – my little Ale just turned two a few days back and then experienced his first Easter in the United States this past weekend. The Easter bunny had come! The baskets were ready, and… man alive! You should have seen his face when he went in for the peeps and dug his teeth right in without a single hesitation! His face lit up with overwhelming excitement when he found his first Easter egg, and life was so sweet and so perfect, as we enjoyed a brief moment of carelessness together and watched our little ones participate in the simple joys of life. These are the things of life our Heavenly Father preordained for us from the beginning.

If God, after bridging the gap between Him and our fallen selves, desires that we too come to Him as His little ones, simply and totally placing our cares, our worries, and our trust in His hands... Why then is it so darn difficult to do? This is something that I not only desire, but a place where I truly want to be some day. Is the real issue our unrealistic expectation of His love as our daddy? Or is the true problem within me and my lack of trust, or even faith? Could I simply “choose” to live before my Heavenly Father as my children live before me? After all the sin I have many times left behind and given to Him and so easily slips back into my life… Is there room for such innocence before Him still? Can I totally humble myself and simply trust Him to provide all of my family’s needs? Can I trust Him to take care of the problems set before me?

The simple answer is: YES.

My daughter has this really bad habit of doing whatever she wants, no matter how many times we tell her she must obey. She continually disobeys, and then feels bad about it when it’s time for her discipline. She never feels quite bad enough to just stop and start obeying. To be honest, this little attitude of hers totally makes me furious at times! I have given her time-outs, taken away privileges, reinforced positive behavior with positive action and have given more privileges, and yes, on a few occasions, I have even had to give her a smack on the hinder a time or two. Yet, when she thinks she is right or has the “right” to do something that we have explicitly told her not to do time and time again, then she’ll do it anyway! And then she has to face the consequences. Have you ever been this way with God?

Now, do I stop loving April when she is disobedient? No, not the slightest! Do I stop providing for her just because she sins against me? No, not right now anyway… she is still very small, very immature, and I am totally responsible for her well-being. Would I ever disown her or throw her out to the dogs? Never! And why, you may ask? Because she is my daughter, she has accepted me as her father, and I will love her even to the point of my own death if need be! She may choose to abandon me or my ways someday. She may even disown me, for all I know. But as her father, however, my love goes much deeper than my feelings, my own discomforts, or my own personal pain or gain. This is true for her, my little Matty, and my little Ale: I would place my life on the line to insure their well-being in a heartbeat.

Now, where does a love such as the love described above come from? I am the first to admit that this kind of love does not come from me. This kind of love is a God-love that can only come from Him. What does this mean for me? This means that just as I unconditionally love my children and would do anything for them… so did God become flesh through His Son, Jesus Christ, and offer Himself as a ransom for us. He took us back to Himself. He gave His all. He spread out His arms in love. He paid for our debt of sin through His life, love and then death on a cross. How much greater is His love for me as His little boy than the mere reflection of that love displayed in me towards my own children? There is no comparison.

So, can I come before my Daddy with all the innocence, joy, carelessness and trust of a child? Of course I can, and so can you! After all, this is why He came to die: to be with us. That’s what family’s all about!