“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
My youngest daughter is now 15.
I can remember when she was little how we would go out in the backyard. And living by the highway like we do with the way things echo in our small valley area of the Sierra foothills, every emergency vehicle that went by sounded like it was right next to our house. (It still does.)
One time, sure enough, as we were standing in the backyard, lo and behold, a fire engine flared up all of a sudden with its horns blaring. And my daughter reacted. She reached out and was grabbing for my tee shirt. She needed what she thought was protection, but moreso it was assurance she was looking for. And so she went to the best source for it (as her little mind would tell her): her dad (me). It goes without saying that I did my best to assure her that everything was okay. A few moments later she was back at play like nothing had happened.
I’d do anything for that little girl (back then and now). Amen? I’d do anything to protect her, assure her, defend her, rescue her, etc. Even if it means I should lose my life trying, I’d still give my life (and happily), mine for hers.
This is a picture of God with each of us. He loves us, each of us, individually, like I do my daughter. God would do anything for us. Isn’t it seen in that He gave His only begotten Son to die on the cross for our sins? (Romans 8:32) We can reach out to the Lord when we’re afraid. (Psalm 56:3) (What are you afraid of today?) God won’t scold us when we do or say, “What’s wrong with you?” Rather, He will treat us like I treated my daughter long ago.
Do you see God like that in your life?
“‘I have loved you with an everlasting love,'” He says to Israel in the Old Testament. (Jeremiah 31:3) But it’s a word for us, too.
Some of us would do well to immerse ourselves in the fact of how much God really loves us. Take some time to do it. You’ll be surprised. It’ll put a smile on your face, a skip in your step and a warmth in your heart.
(Fire Engine picture file above is under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License: click here. Creative Commons)
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