Having a
twenty-month-old son has reminded me of the richly unconditional nature of our
Heavenly Father’s love.
My son has taken
to the endearing act of trying to poke my eyes out when he’s excited. At other
times he gets great satisfaction from pinching my nipples (when he sees my
wincing response). And sometimes when he’s blowing raspberries on my belly he
takes to giving me little bites, too! Finally, there has been a stage when he
would head-butt me (several times) if I was holding him when he was angry. I
could get concerned at all these behaviours, but I choose to see them more in
the ilk of the age-and-stage phenomenon. As we engage together I’m
intrinsically interested and ever curious as to my son’s experience of things, even
in the times he seems to do the wrong thing. When I have to discipline him
because he really does hurt me, I’m careful to ‘hold’ him in his hurt. I don’t
want any unnecessary harm to come to him. He needs to learn right from wrong,
but tough love is still love. There is no way that my son could genuinely hurt
me in these tussles.
***
My response to
my son is similar to how I picture God’s response to us. Sometimes we hurt our
Heavenly Father, yet he remains loving (unhurt) in his response.
***
We resist God when life isn’t going our own way,
yet our Heavenly Father treats such contempt with love. As a perfect and holy
Father, the Lord is wholly good –
the very best of fathers.
Some fathers will be hurt by their children,
yet fathers who are beyond being hurt exemplify the Heavenly Father’s love;
they have come to accept that fatherhood and his children are not about him.
A father’s role in this life is to serve his
children’s best interest. Yet the Heavenly Father’s role is also to serve his
children’s best interest.
Love allows hurt never to become the issue,
because love is not about itself. Love is completely other-focused.
***
How greatly deep is the Heavenly Father’s love
that God cannot be hurt by our many transgressions against him. Insisting that
we have opportunities to learn, however, means God will not save us from
lessons that are meant for our good; those decreed and designed by love.
There is nothing more trustworthy than the
faithfulness of the Holy Father’s love.
© 2014 S. J. Wickham.
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