Sunday School at 9 am | worship at 10 am

A Father's Love

The world is filled with examples of great fathers.  These are men who have been faithful in bringing up children that made a difference for good in the world we live in.  They are characterized by being loving, stern, playful, understanding, protective, nurturing, wise, and a host of other qualities.  However, I wonder how often we think of fathers as sacrificial.  Many of us were unaware of what our fathers gave up for us and our families while we were growing up.  A child doesn’t know if it is rich or poor when they are very young, yet so often our culture defines a  sacrificial father as someone who is week or unable to really provide for their family.  If a father wants to spend more time with his family rather than work an extra 10 hours in a week, they are sometimes looked down upon as not having the right priorities.

 

But what about our heavenly father.  What were his priorities?  Amazingly, He was the most sacrificial of all.  He was sacrificial to the point of giving up his child for others.  That just blows my mind.  If you had asked me 5 years ago before my children were born what I thought about God sacrificing His Son, I would have said that I thought it was amazingly noble and caring and loving.  But, I didn’t really get it.  To give up your own child…  You can’t really understand that unless you have a child to give up.  Fellow fathers, you understand what I mean.

 

When I look in my baby girl’s eyes I see life and joy.  I have the uncontrollable urge to protect her from any harm, both emotional and physical.  It is extremely difficult for me to imagine what I would do if God gave me the same charge he gave to Abraham, to sacrifice my child as an act of faith.  It is even more difficult for me to imagine giving up my child to experience pain and torture, much less to do it for people that wouldn’t appreciate what I was truly doing.

 

Yet, that is what God has done for us.  The child that had been with Him for eternity past, the Firstborn of all creation, the very Word of God, was sent away to be tortured and to die for those who hated Him.  And somehow I benefit from this.  That is what is amazing.  That is what each of us who have a heavenly Father should celebrate this week.  I think the words of this song which we’ll sing on Sunday say it very well…

 

“How deep the Father’s love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that He should give His only Son, to make a wretch His treasure.”