Some friends of mine recently welcomed their first baby, a boy. I caught up with them a couple of weeks after he was born and their eyes sparkled as they recounted the story of his arrival, the euphoria of the days immediately following his birth, and the sheer awe and wonder they felt every time they looked at their precious bundle of joy. When I asked if they were getting any sleep, they brushed off my question with shrugs, sheepish grins, and that giddy air of new parenthood in which you haven’t quite learned the true meaning of the phrase “sleep deprivation” yet because you’re still too new for the novelty of sleepless nights to have worn off (all the experienced parents out there, give me an “Amen!”). They were, quite simply, in love with their son.
I left my conversation with them that day feeling a sense of nostalgia as I reflected on memories of parenting my own daughters. If you’re a mom or a dad, whether by birth, adoption, or circumstance, you can probably relate to that moment when you first laid eyes on your child and realized you had never quite understood the idea of unconditional love until they came along. It’s a sensation in which you feel like your heart is literally going to burst out of your chest with love for this human being who has suddenly entered your world and turned it upside-down, in all the best ways possible.
Now, consider this: That feeling pales in comparison to the depths of God’s love for us. You see, that “unconditional” love a parent feels for their child isn’t truly unconditional in the fullest sense of the word. We’re all sinners, all broken and flawed human beings, and we’re inherently selfish as a result. Unconditional love requires perfect selflessness – a quality we can never possess, despite our best efforts.
But God…God is perfect. And because He’s perfect, His love is truly unconditional. Have you ever noticed that of ALL the names of God mentioned in the Bible, the one that Jesus chooses to use more than 100 times throughout the Gospels is “Father”? There is perhaps no other word that better reflects the heart of our Lord toward us. Only a Father’s heart would have spoken all of creation into being. Only a Father’s heart would have made mankind in His own image. Only a Father’s heart would have been wounded by the fall of humanity and the subsequent separation of His image-bearers from Himself.
And only a Father’s heart would have made the choice to send His only Son to die for us, be buried, and raised from the dead – all so that we,too, could become His children, to be welcomed into His arms for all of eternity.
So, the next time you look at your son or daughter and feel your heart bursting out of your chest with love, pause for a moment and think about how that love can barely scratch the surface of the depths of God’s love for them, and for you. You may think you love your child more than they’ll ever realize, but friend, let me assure you of an even more beautiful truth: you are more loved than you will ever realize, by Someone who died to know you.
