One of
the concepts that Francis Chan’s book Crazy Love brought my way was this
idea that our Heavenly Father wants us.
His love for us is not centered on our salvation alone. He wants to be part of our entire lives.
Many
of the people that I have counseled over the years I have been in ministry have
had a real desire to please their parents and many pointed directly to wanting
to please their fathers. The same is
true for God. Many Christians are
seeking to please God or maybe to appease him in some way, shape or form.
Yet
God desires for us to understand through His unconditional love for us that our
God simply wants us. This concept may be
foreign to you as Chan said it was to him.
The
impact of our human relationships on our relationship with God is something we
cannot miss. Your father may not have
been good to you or not have been present, but he was your father. Or your story may be very different with a
father who cared and did a pretty good job of loving you. We had to have a father to get in to this
world whether ours was there or not, good or not.
Francis
Chan talked about not really understanding how much God loves and wants His
kids until he had kids of His own. He
wrote:
My own love and desire for my kids’ love is so strong
that it opened my eyes to how much God desires and loves us. May daughter’s expression of love for me and
her desire to be with me is the most amazing thing. Nothing compares to being truly, exuberantly
wanted by your children.
…I came to understand that my desire for my children
is only a faint echo of God’s great love for me and for every person He
made. I am just an earthly, sinful
father, and I love my kids so much it hurts.
How could I not trust a heavenly, perfect Father who loves me infinitely
more than I will ever love my kids? (quoted from Francis Chan, Crazy Love)

Each
of those made this daddy so proud of my kids.
I love them. Hear me out: I want
my kids to know that I love them and that I am proud of them. My dad taught me much of this as well, and I
have fond memories of our time together when I was young (this week is my dad’s
birthday… and I miss him and my mom).
It is
a high calling to love our kids and to point them to Jesus. May we dads be echos and examples of the love
of God. Think about it. This is incredible. So, there is more love to come, and I am so
thankful for my dad’s love and care for me and even more thankful for the truth
of my Heavenly Father’s love and desire for me!
So if you sinful people know how to
give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
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