Every Single Time
June 12, 2023
The unconditional love of a father is one of the most precious and stabilizing forces in the life of a child. But, it is challenging for any human father to provide unwavering, unconditional love to his children. It is a tall order because all humans get tired or disappointed or hurt or afraid. Father’s Day can be a painful reminder for those who were raised (or neglected and abused) by a dad with serious human flaws.
But, this is not going to be a post about how you should forgive your human dad for what he should have done. This post is about a Father, an adoptive Father, who can and does provide unconditional love. What David wrote in Psalm 27:10 has been a source of comfort and hope to me for years:
Although my father and my mother have forsaken me, yet the Lord will take me up [adopt me as His child]. (AMPC)
Equally as awesome is Ephesians 1:4-5:
Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. (NLT)
Even before you were born, God the Father decided to love you unconditionally. There is nothing you can do to get God the Father to stop loving you. He loves you so much that He made a sure and simple way for you to join His family for eternity. This is what Jesus said about the love of the Father in John 3:16-17:
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. (NLT)
I really like this verse in 1 Peter 5:
7 Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. (AMPC)
And in 1 John 3:
1 See what [an incredible] quality of love the Father has given (shown, bestowed on) us, that we should [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are!... (AMPC)
God is not mad at you. There is no sin or mistake big enough to deter the Father from loving you. Turning your life over to God by accepting Jesus makes you a child of God. God never leaves you or forsakes you. We may choose to turn away from God, but He never turns away from us. All we have to do is turn back to Him and confess what we have done. According to 1 John 1:9 if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. He forgives EVERY SINGLE TIME we turn back to Him.
I encourage you to spend a little time on Father’s Day thinking about God the Father. On this special day, as we honor our earthly fathers, let’s also honor our heavenly Father. Amen.