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march 30, 2004
the father
heart of God (part
3)
by John Dawson
parental attentiveness
There is one attribute of God that not even
the best parent can hope to imitate - that is God's ability
to be with you all the time. As parents we just cannot give
constant attention 24 hours a day. We are finite beings who
can only focus on one thing at a time. Not only is God with
you all the time, but He gives you His whole attention.
Let Him have all your worries and cares,
for He is always thinking about you and watching everything
that concerns you.
(I Peter 5:7, as paraphrased in The Living Bible)
God is constantly thinking an uninterrupted
stream of loving thoughts toward you as though nobody else
in the world exists. You say, "How does He do that? How
can He be personally involved with billions of individuals
at the same time?" I don't know, but I know it's no problem
for the Creator of the world. Perhaps the explanation is the
speed of His thought. There are 5 billion people on this planet.
God has created things in nature that pulsate at incredible
speed. I have heard that the quartz crystal's molecular structure
vibrates at the speed of 9 billion movements per second. If
God could only think that fast, He could think a loving thought
towards you about twice every second without straining His
ability to relate to the rest of His children. Who knows how
He does it? Just enjoy it! As far as you are concerned, it's
just you and God. You don't have to get His attention, He's
already listening. Don't worry about taking His time... it's
all yours.
Your parents were often preoccupied with their
activities, and sometimes showed no vital interest in the
small events of your life, but God is not that way. He cares.
He is a God of detail. Why does the Bible say that God has
numbered the hairs of your head? Not because God is concerned
with abstract mathematics. He's not a computer wanting data,
it's just that He's trying to tell us in what detail He knows
us and cares about our lives.
A little boy has worked all afternoon pounding
nails into pieces of scrap wood. He finally emerges from the
garage and shows a three-level battleship to mom. He can't
wait until dad gets home. Dad is late. At 6:30 a tired, preoccupied
man finally arrives. A cold dinner is waiting, and so are
the income tax forms. The excited boy proudly displays his
handiwork to a daddy who barely looks up from the calculator.
Daddy never looked, never appreciated, but God did. Father
God always looked, always took delight in the work of your
hands. He's your real Father, always will be (not to say that
your real father is not important). Don't ever resent the
failings of your human parents. They are just kids that grew
up and had kids. Rather rejoice in the wonderful love of your
Father God.
parental acceptance
We live in a performance-oriented society.
Acceptance is always conditional - if you make the football
team, if you bring home a good report card, if you look pretty,
if you have money, if you win. The kingdom of this world is
a kingdom of rejection. The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of
unconditional love. Many of God's promises are conditional,
we must obey Him to see blessing. But His love is unconditional.
You don't have to wait to experience the love of God. Come
as you are. Just be honest with Him about your sin - He delights
to forgive you. Even in the depths of your past rebellion
He still loved you.
Many of you have an inability to receive God's
love and approval. You are trapped in a slave-like relationship
with the harsh god of your imagination. A true love relationship
involves the giving and receiving of love responses. There's
one night I will always remember - the night I proposed to
my wife, Julie. I kissed her and asked her to marry me. What
if she had responded like this, "I'll wash your socks,
I'll clean your car, and I'll type your letters." I didn't
want to hear that! I wanted a response that matched my feelings
of love for her. I wanted to know that she felt the same way
about me.
What is your response to God when He simply
says He loves you? Can you Be still and know that He is God
without rushing into frantic activity to earn His approval?
(Psalm 46:10 KJV)
One of the greatest pictures of human peace
and contentment is that of a baby asleep in the arms of a
mother after having been fed at the breast. The child no longer
squirms and demands, but rests in the embrace of loving arms.
A deep mellow contentment wells up into the sound of a lullaby
sung by mothers at times like this. The prophet Zephaniah
described a similar emotion in the heart of God.
He will save, He will rejoice over
thee with joy, He will rest in His love, He will joy over
thee with singing.
(Zeph. 3:17 KJV)
Don't be so restless in the presence of God.
Corrie ten Boom had some simple advice to offer this generation.
She who experienced so much suffering at the hands of the
Nazis, yet went on to great spiritual victory, once said to
my friends and me, "Don't wrestle... nestle ." What
a profound but simple truth.
God already loves you. All through life you
have had to perform and compete. Even as a tiny baby you were
compared with other babies. People said you were "too
fat," or "too thin," or had "his legs"
or "her nose," but God delighted in your uniqueness
and still does. It's when you bask in the love of the Father
that you cause God to "rest in His love and joy over
you with singing."
Yes, there is much to be done in your life
and through your life. There will be days when God comes bringing
deep conviction of sin, showing you areas of your life that
need to be changed, committed and submitted to Him. But God
is not always demanding changes. He knows our limits and He
gives us the grace and power to do the things He asks of us.
He is tender and compassionate. Most of the time He just says,
"I love you," and softly speaks your name.
conclusion
If you see that you have been hindered in
your relationship with God due to some kind of failure of
parental love, then take these things to the Lord. You must
find forgiveness in your heart towards anyone who has hurt
you. If you don't, your bitterness will consume you and you
will find no peace with God. Realize, too, that you are not
alone. I haven't met a perfect person yet, or a parent who
hasn't made mistakes. Everyone has suffered some kind of hurts
in their life. One of the keys for release is found in forgiveness.
The important thing is that you go forward and get to know
God for who He really is - not who you think He is.
He is the Perfect Parent.
He always disciplines in love.
He is faithful, generous, kind, and just He
loves you and He longs to spend time with you.
He wants you to receive His love and know
that you are a special and unique person to Him.
Will you receive God's love and affection?
Won't you open up and enter into an intimate
relationship with your true Father?
He is patiently waiting for you to come.
It is my prayer that you will realize His
love for you and respond to the father heart of God.
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