A Father's Love

This past my week, my girls spent Easter break with Grandma. My girls are usually good away from home and except for a few attitudes and being messy, they behaved quite well. Then it happened. Thursday night, Mom called me around 10:30 at night. She told me that while watching T.V. my oldest daughter broke down crying. She cried for her daddy. Mom tried to comfort her, to no avail. As Mom told me what was going on, I heard my baby crying in the background. I could imagine the tears flowing down her cheeks. My heart broke. The only thing that separated me from wrapping my arms around her was a 50 minute drive.

"Let me talk to her," I told Mom. Mo got on the phone. Crying, she mustered up a weak "Hi, Mommy." I asked her what was wrong. She said she really needed her daddy, she missed him. I asked her if she wanted to call him, but she said no. I didn't know what to say or how to help her. I felt helpless, and before long tears welled in my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. My baby needed comfort and I didn't know how to make it better for her. I began to pray. I asked God to comfort my daughter,and to show her what an amazing support system she has, full of people who love and are cheering for her. Still, she cried.

After prayer, I talked to her. I asked her what prompted her thoughts of her daddy. Well, it turned out that spending time with her uncle, made her realize how much she missed her dad. I told her to thank God and her uncle for being there for her. I tried reminding her of all the great things God has blessed her with. But I knew she needed more. I began to remind her of a father's love that doesn't change or disappoint. I told her that since she's a child of God, she has the best Father any girl could ever have. Being a child of God makes her a princess. I reminded her that God is always there to listen to her when she needs to talk and that He only desires great things for her.

After while, my baby was calm again, no more tears. My conversation with Mo got me to think about how great our heavenly Father is. He sent His Son to this earth as a sacrafice for our wrongs in order to save us from eternal damnation. He watched in agony as His Son was tortured and hung from a cross enduring uninmaginable suffering. How highly God must value us all that He would give us such a wonderful gift.

As we celebrate Easter, let us remember, the sacrafice Jesus made for us, by surrendering to death on our behalf, then defeating death in order that we may enjoy salvation. At the same time, let us remember how much God the Father loved us, that He would be willing to let His Son die to save his other children who had turned away from Him. I can only imagine what pain God experienced as he watched His perfect Son bear the weight of the world's sins on His shoulders. A parent never wants to see their child hurt, but in His infinite love, grace, and mercy, God was willing to suffer with His Son in order that we might be saved and spend eternity with Him.

"It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two." Luke 23:44-45

I believe this scripture describes what God felt in the hours and minutes leading to His Son's death. The sun stopped shining. Can you imagine a day without the sun shining, being surrounded by total darkness, with not even a glimpse of moonlight? How dreadful, sad, and depressing. I imagine that's how God felt watching Jesus die for those who rejected him.

The curtain was torn in two. Have you ever torn up a piece of paper in anger? I have. It takes a lot of angry feelings for me to get to the point of destroying things, but I've gone there more than a few times. Scholars have theories on the symbolism of the curtain being torn, and it definitely fulfills prophecy, but I think this action also represents God's anger. I imagine God was livid with those who hurt his precious Child. Maybe He was even angry that sacrificing his Son was the only way to save the lost ones. Even being all-knowing, God knew the plan from the beginning of time, but in that moment, how mad must God have been to sit back and watch His Son being tortured. I know how angry I get if someone hurts one of my girls, but I can't even begin to fathom the level of anger God felt as He watched His Son breathe His last breath while nailed to a cross. Certainly angry enough to make the earth shake (Matthew 27:51).

God felt these feelings for Jesus when He suffered the horrible fate of death on the cross. But, you know what? God absolutely feels emotions for us, His children, too. When we hurt, God hurts for us. God is sad in our sorrow and pain. He gets annoyed when we disobey. He rejoices over us when we're happy. He's filled with pride when we surrender to His will, obey His commands, love and serve others, and seek His word to get to know Him better. How blessed we are to call God our Father. Even when our earthly fathers abandon or otherwise leave us, we have a Father in heaven who will never ever leave us. He's always with us, ready to carry us, love on us, comfort us, and all the other wonderful things a perfect Father does.