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. [John 3:16-17 (NLT)]
Although he was a man of faith, my father was not a man of laughter, tenderness, affection, or patience. When I was a child, my understanding of fear of the Lord was much like the fear I had of my father—fear that I never could be pretty, smart, talented, or good enough to earn either his or God’s love. Try as I might, I always seemed to fall short.
I couldn’t have been more than seven when I decided to run away. While I can’t recall what prompted me to take such drastic action, I must have disappointed my father in some way. After emptying my piggy bank of a handful of quarters, I left a note telling my parents I was leaving and walked two blocks to the city bus stop. While waiting for the bus, I sat on the steps of a storefront and, sure they wouldn’t even notice I was gone, cried.
I’m not sure how he found me but, like the shepherd who left the ninety-nine sheep to search for the missing lamb, he did! My tears were interrupted when my father rode around the corner on my brother’s bike. Without the harsh words I expected, he wiped my tears, picked me up, sat me on the handle-bars, and we returned home. The two of us must have been quite a sight as this six-foot man balanced me on the front of a boy’s bike and peddled me down the street. While I don’t remember what caused me to leave, I clearly remember my joy at being pursued by my father, picked up, and welcomed back home. Perhaps my running away simply was a test to see if my father loved me enough to seek me even when I erred and strayed.
Just as I mistakenly thought my father’s love was conditional and something to be earned, many of us think we need to earn God’s love. Fortunately, we don’t because, as flawed and fallible as we are, we could never deserve all that God has done for us. Mankind’s abysmal history makes that abundantly clear. From the first sin in Eden, we’ve disappointed God with everything from murder, golden calves, and idol worship to hypocrisy, immorality, rebellion, pride, greed, and wickedness.
Nevertheless, rather than withdrawing His love, God seeks us (as my father did with me). God sought Adam and Eve when they sinned, Jonah when he disobeyed, Hagar when she ran, Gideon when he was hiding, Paul when he persecuted Him, and Peter when he denied Him. Despite our selfishness, greed, defiance, failures, complaints, stubbornness, and other transgressions, God sought us and gave us Jesus. We didn’t deserve such a sacrifice nor did we do anything to earn our salvation—that was God’s grace.
While my accomplishments pleased my father, I eventually learned that I didn’t have to earn his love. He loved me (at both my best and worst) because I was his child. In the same way, God loves His children unconditionally and nothing we can do will ever change that! While He wants us to live righteous lives, God won’t stop loving us when we fail. We have a Father in Heaven who loves us unreservedly, forgives our offenses, disciplines us when we’re wrong, pursues us when we stray, and brings us home when we’re found.
God’s unconditional love is a very difficult concept for people to accept because, in the world, there’s always payment for everything we receive. It’s just how things work here. But God is not like people! [Joyce Meyer]
Devotions of the Heart 