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"Help Daddy, Help!" - Our Heavenly Father's Love
Victoria Boyson
www.boyson.org
When I was a little girl something my father did for me has always stuck with me. It has helped me to understand our heavenly Father's heart toward His
children: that He loves us unconditionally and will stand by us no matter what we do.
When I was about twelve years old I wrote to a company I found in the back of a magazine to sell posters. You make a small
profit, but mainly you do it just for the fun of being "in business" for yourself. They sent me a catalog of all their merchandise and I promptly took it to school to show my classmates. They placed their orders and
paid me their money to place and order with. I have to say that I did have the very best of intentions, but ended up spending their money.
Months went by and I agonized over what I was to do.
Eventually, my classmates began to grumble against me, "Where are the posters we ordered?. I knew that I needed to talk to my father about what I had done and hoped he would help me out. I braced myself for what I thought would be a stinging lecture and humbly told him how I had failed. Without even one word of anger or disappointment he asked me, "How much do you need?" I told him and he wrote a check in full for the items. We sent away for the posters and I was proud to deliver the items order to my classmates at school. They were still upset that it had taken so long to get them, they never knew what I had done. However, I knew and I was relieved to never be "in business" again.
My dad realized that I had learned my lesson and he didn't need to lecture or rebuke. He paid my debt because I am his kid and he loves me. He is responsible for me, and he stood by me and covered my
sin. He never even considered turning me down when I came to him with my need, because his love for me is unconditional. How much more does our heavenly Father love us?
Our Heavenly Father's Love
"If you
then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:11)
Our Father in heaven loves us and he is good to
us. He is not harsh or unsympathetic to us.
He wants us to do what is right, but stands by us when we don't. He is not proud of us one moment for doing some good deed, and then angry the next because we have failed. He is on our side, ready to help us out if we will just ask. He is bound to us because He is our Father. He is devoted to us when we succeed and when we fail.
"The Lord watches over all who love him..." (Psalms 145:20 NIV)
These words were written by King David who experienced God's great love first hand. I asked the Lord one day what it was He loved so much
about David. David made a lot of mistakes, but God said that David, "was a man after His own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14).
Why? The Lord told me it was because David believed in God's goodness. David believed that God was good and he trusted in that goodness, and so God was good to him.
God Loves Us Passionately!
Psalms
106:39 (NIV) refers to the Children of Israel, "They defiled themselves by what they did; by their deeds they prostituted themselves.
Therefore the Lord was angry with his people and abhorred his inheritance." They chose to rebel; it wasn't an accident. But God said in vs. 44-46 of the same chapter, "But he took note of their distress when he heard their cry; for their sake he remembered his covenant and out of his great love he relented. He caused them to be pitied by all who held them captive."
Because of their rebellion toward Him, He allowed their enemies to over take them. BUT, when they turned to Him for help, His love over took Him and He helped them.
Our heavenly Father is a good Father who loves
His children very much . He is merciful to those who come humbly to Him for help.
The word of God says that "God IS love" (1 John 4:16), so let's do an experiment. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul tells us what love
is. Well, if God is love, then let's take the word "love" out and replace it with "God."
God is patient, God is kind. He does not envy; He does not boast. He is not proud. God is not rude; He is not self-seeking. He is not easily angered. GOD KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS. He does not delight in evil but He rejoices in the truth. He always protects, always trusts, and always hopes. God ALWAYS perseveres; HE NEVER FAILS!
In your earnest pursuit of loving God and being obedient to Him, it is easy to get out of focus and feel condemnation when you fail Him. But God is always on your side and His grace is more than sufficient for your
sins. Turn to Him; He is waiting with arms wide-open.
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