See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.
~1 John 3:1
I’d been warned. My friends who have lived through a time like I had last week tried to tell me, to explain what I was stepping into. I thought, “Yeah, I know…it’s gonna be wonderful.” Oh, but how could I really know? Not even sure my words here could truly capture it if you told me to fill 1000 pages. Some of you reading this may nod with a knowing look. And if you haven’t yet experienced this—or won’t ever for myriad reasons—my hope is that you’ll still understand the spiritual truths purposefully baked in by our Heavenly Father.
See, my son and daughter-in-love had a baby the other day. The moment we walked into the hospital room, and I laid eyes on her, it was all over—tears of joy, gratitude, answered prayers, and overwhelming love for this beautiful little girl. As I held her and gazed into that perfect face, I thought my heart would burst. Just hours old, she has no words, no activity, no attitude. She simply is…and she is immensely loved.
Now, it’s been over two decades since my two boys were babies, when I could hold them in my arms for hours and stare lovingly into their precious faces, my heart bursting with pure momma-adoration. Before the bad decisions, colossal mistakes, lost tempers, and regretted words set in to break the spell…and I’m talking about mine. I was/am not a perfect parent. So, despite my deep love (“to eternity and back”), which was expressed and verbalized to my boys, I know that they doubted my promise that there’s nothing they could ever do to make me love them less. I’m sure, in my failures, they thought, “I better do ______ to earn her love,” or “I messed up, so surely I’m not as loved as I was before.” Oh, how I wish it wasn’t so…because it wasn’t the truth. Did I mention I was far from a perfect parent?
Why this confession now? As I held my tiny, helpless granddaughter, overcome by a new exponential love, the Lord showed me more of Himself. See, when we were born again into God’s family by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ, we were as helpless as my granddaughter emerging from her momma. We did nothing, said nothing to earn His acceptance and love. He loves us because we are His. From that moment of our new birth, we start failing. But since He is the Perfect Parent, as we make those bad decisions and colossal mistakes, when regrettable words fly from our hearts through our open lips, we never have to doubt His love. He’ll never love us any less or more—and He knows our every thought, past, present, and future.
Although I recognize that my “grandmother goggles” will be different than my momma-vision, I know full well that no one will have to teach my sweet grandbaby to lie, bite, and have tantrums when she doesn’t get her way. And, as with my boys, there will be consequences to those actions and attitudes. But my prayer is that she—and each of us, as children of our Heavenly Father—deeply know God’s unchanging love. There is no more for the earning. No loss at our foolishness. Just the unfathomable, unsearchable love of God. In His graciousness to remind me of this, I pray that you’re also washed over by His exponential love for you.
Lord, thank You that nothing can ever separate me from Your love. I cannot earn Your approval or dampen Your affection for me. When I fail or fall or doubt, remind me of this truth, so I can rest in Your unfathomable love for me.
encouraged by grace 