Shirley
Photo by Helen Cheng on Unsplash
The Love of a Father
Mungu anakupenda bure (God loves you for free, just as you are)
Love is a very complex thing. The idea of love conjures up different images in all our minds and it is all influenced and dependant on where or with whom we grew up with. In fact, our first ideologies about love are formed from the relationship we first have with our parent or parents; how they gave us love and how we received it, and importantly, if you had both parents how they loved each other. Our ideas of love are further influenced by what we see in the society and the culture of the day. The culture of the day is also influenced by everything from television, to rom coms, to soap operas. Further, with the new digital wave, our ideologies of love are now also influenced by social media, and the ridiculously “perfect pictures” or videos posted by social media influencers who rule the day on such platforms.
Interestingly, all the above love often sets the stage for this picture of love that can easily be described as performance-based love. Love that must be earned and that is not given for free! Love that is earned by looking a certain way physically or dressing a certain way or fitting into the mould of what society decides is beautiful or attractive. It could also mean being the most athletic, it involves getting the best grades or being gifted or being successful or even being wealthy. Other times it could involve performing certain activities, or providing in a particular way or being born into a particular blood line or family, and now the most random debates on love revolve on measuring someone’s femininity or masculinity (the world has officially gone bonkers as this scale is constantly changing and influenced by culture). Basically, love is earned.
Hence, the idea of receiving love even when you are not deserving, is mind blowing or something akin to unrealistic childish yearning. That it cost someone to love us and that we owe them nothing in return, is utterly dumbfounding. Yes, the very idea that God loves us just us we are is nothing short of perplexing especially because we live in a world where love is a commodity that we often need to perform for in order to receive.
God’s love is not like any other kind of love, it is the kind of love that is just given to you and you do not have to earn or even have the ability to earn it, you just come as you are. Very simple. The idea of being loved just as you are is so wonderful and fulfilling. It leaves me speechless. Basically, His love cannot be put in a box. Imagine been loved for simply existing and nothing more or nothing less. His love is indescribable, big, grandiose, passionate, majestic, glorious,unquantifiable, incomprehensible, mind boggling, complex etc. God’s love is an enigma, it so costly, yet it is also free, it makes no absolute sense why He loves us. And to top it all off, if you do accept His love, it comes with many perks that includes everything from joy, peace, strength, abundance, wholeness etc.
God’s love for us is stands apart as it is the only love that can teach you how to love you, and how to truly see who you are: beautifully and wonderfully made. It is a pure type of love that not only fills us, but over flows into our relationship with others.
His love puts me to sleep like a baby when my life is rocking from an attack from the torrential and ghastly winds of life. It gives me a smile in a season of sorrow, a bounce in your step when it seems like my whole life is falling apart. It sets my heart at peace. It stills my soul. At the same time, it sets my heart aflame with the call of purpose, determination, creativity and imagination. It makes me content even when others think that I am in lack. It gives me peace of mind because I know my life is in the hands of the one who first loved me. His love is the secret sauce for boldness, kindness, joy, forgiveness, grace, peace, love, discipline, creativity, youthfulness, influence and wealth. It is a kind of love that is constant. It never ends, it never leaves me, it’s always around me, it is all consuming. When I am good, I am loved, when I am bad, I am still loved. I am always loved.
God’s love makes me brave even when I feel small. It is the kind of love that heals old wounds and trauma, and teaches me to forgive the unthinkable. It opens my eyes and helps me to see not only life for what it is, but to see others for who they truly are, their strengths and weaknesses, and then gives me the grace to forgive those who fall short. It is the kind of love that meets me right where I am even when everyone has left. This is at my lowest or in my worst defeat or disappointment, or even when I am the villain of the story.
His love is so powerful that it makes me believe in the impossible. It made Abraham believe that he would be a father despite his wife and him being beyond the age of fertility. It is the kind of love that drove David to charge after a Giant with a stone and a sling, that made Peter dare to walk on water. It enabled Noah to endure ridicule while building a humongous and ridiculous boat for a flood that was nowhere in sight. It is the same love that made Joshua and the children of Israel to believe that marching around a wall while blowing a horn would somehow give them victory against their indominable foe. It also led Mary Magdalene to use all her savings to buy a perfume to wash the feet of Jesus, and that made bible greats like Daniel and his friends, Steven, and Paul to willingly lay down their lives. The kind of love that made a Father, a King of all kings, to send His only son to earth to die for us. What kind of love is this?
As if that is not enough, to sit at His feet and accept His love is to never be the same again. It is a love that makes one whole. No one else on this earth, not a lover, a child, a parent, a sibling can love us to wholeness, only God can. No other love will or can make you whole, it can try, but it cannot.
God is love, He is the epitome, the definition of what love is. He is love. It is a love that is necessary to walk this earth, and I do not know how one can walk without it! It’s like a fire that burns and burns and never goes out. Once it makes a home in your heart it will never leave you nor forsake you. Indeed, there are many things in this life that I do not understand and I cannot explain, but if there is one thing that I know and I am sure of with everything in my soul, is that I am loved by God.
I could go on and on, but no words can adequately capture or fully describe the love our Father in heaven has for us. The above is just a tip of the iceberg of the wonder working power of God’s love.
I know today is Father’s Day and while it is a wonderful day for those of us who get to celebrate their fathers here on earth, not everyone has a reason to celebrate. It could be for a variety of reason that includes everything from death, absenteeism, or estrangement, however, that does not mean that you are bereft or forgotten because we have our Father in heaven to celebrate. Even for those who have or had a great father here on earth nothing can compare to the love our Father in heaven has for us.
So today while we celebrate Father’s Day let us also remember our Father in heaven who loved us even when we did not deserve it and can never earn His love enough to deserve it!
Reminders of God’s love
1 John 3:1 See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know Him.
Psalm 36:5-7 Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD. How precious is Your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of Your wings.
Lamentations 3:20-23 I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
Romans 8:37-39 In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
1 John 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so, we are.
Psalm 86:15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Hebrews 12:6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.
Romans 5:8 But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Psalm 136:26 Give thanks to the God of heaven, for His steadfast love endures forever.
I John 3: 1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! (I John 3: 1)
Song of Songs 2: 4 His banner over me is love.
Psalm 86: 15: But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
I Chronicles 16:34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord your God is with you; he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing.
Psalm 107:8-9 “Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”
Psalm 36:5-6 “Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep.”
Nehemiah 9:17 “But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love…”
1 John 4:18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced His perfect love.
Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered
Ephesians 3:18-19 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Psalm 5:11-12 But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread Your protection over them, that all who love Your name may be filled with joy. For You bless the godly, O LORD; You surround them with Your shield of love.
Ephesians 1:5 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.
Ephesians 2:4-5 But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive His new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
Romans 5:5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.
Proverbs 3:11-12 My child, don’t reject the LORD’s discipline, and don’t be upset when He corrects you. For the LORD corrects those He loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom He delights.
Psalm 31:7 I will be glad and rejoice in Your unfailing love, for You have seen my troubles, and You care about the anguish of my soul.
Lamentations 3:32-33 Though He brings grief, He also shows compassion because of the greatness of His unfailing love. For He does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.
John 4:9-12 God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love — not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us.
Psalms 63: 3 My lips praise you because your faithful love is better than life itself.
Isaiah 54:10 The mountains may shift, and the hills may be shaken, but my faithful love won’t shift from you, and my covenant of peace won’t be shaken,’ says the Lord, the one who pities you.
Psalm 86:15 But you, my Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy; you are very patient and full of faithful love.
Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord your God is in your midst — a warrior bringing victory. He will create calm with his love; he will rejoice over you with singing.
Ephesians 3:18-19 I ask that you’ll have the power to grasp love’s width and length, height and depth, together with all believers. I ask that you’ll know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge so that you will be filled entirely with the fullness of God.
Psalm 5:11-12 But let all who take refuge in you celebrate. Let them sing out loud forever! Protect them so that all who love your name can rejoice in you. Because you, Lord, bless the righteous. You cover them with favour like a shield.
Ephesians 1:5-6 God destined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ because of his love. This was according to his goodwill and plan and to honour his glorious grace that he has given to us freely through the Son whom he loves.
1 Chronicles 16:34 Give thanks to the Lord because he is good, because his faithful love endures forever.
Psalm 107:8-9 Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all people, because God satisfied the one who was parched with thirst, and he filled up the hungry with good things!
2 Chronicles 6:14 He said: ‘Lord God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven or on the earth. You keep the covenant and show loyalty to your servants who walk before you with all their heart.
Romans 8:31-32 So what are we going to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He didn’t spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. Won’t he also freely give us all things with him?
Psalm 36:7 Your faithful love is priceless, God! Humanity finds refuge in the shadow of your wings.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in my body, I live by faith, indeed, by the faithfulness of God’s Son, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Psalm 109:21 But you, Lord, my Lord! — act on my behalf for the sake of your name; deliver me because your faithful love is so good.
1 John 4:9-10 This is how the love of God is revealed to us: God has sent his only Son into the world so that we can live through him. This is love: it is not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son as the sacrifice that deals with our sins.
Micah 7:18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity, overlooking the sin of the few remaining for his inheritance? He doesn’t hold on to his anger forever; he delights in faithful love.
Romans 5:5 This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Romans 8:28 We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.
John 14:21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them loves me. Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.
Romans 8:38-39 I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers or height or depth, or any other thing that is created.
John 15:9 As the Father loved me, I too have loved you. Remain in my love.
Romans 5:8 But God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
John 16:27 The Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and believed that I came from God.
Romans 8:35 Who will separate us from Christ’s love? Will we be separated by trouble, or distress, or harassment, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
Ephesians 2:4-5 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
I John 4: 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
Galatians 2: 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Psalm 136: 26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.
Ephesians 2: 4-5 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.
Psalms 86: 15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
Psalms 36:7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.