What My 6-Month-Old Is Teaching Me about God's Love

It's amazing how much marriage has taught me about Christ's relationship with the Church (not to mention how much sin in my life marriage has revealed :) ). Adding another factor into the equation - a baby - just magnifies these lessons even more! Just as He uses marriage as an analogy for His relationship with us, the parent/child relationship also teaches us much. There is definitely a reason why God is our Heavenly Father who calls us His children.Because our minds are incapable of fully understanding and comprehending such a great God (just as we learned about God's incomprehensibility in church a few weeks ago), these analogies are useful for us to understand, in part, Who God is. Today I was thinking about how much being a mom has taught me about the love of God. Hannah is incapable of offering me anything. She can't provide any services, she can't produce any goods. In fact, not only can she not provide anything, but she demands my attention, time, energy, etc. When speaking of give and take, I, as her parent, am doing all the giving and she is doing all the taking (of course, I do get great joy from her smiles and giggles, but I think you know what I'm getting at). Even though she really has nothing to offer me at this point in her life, the love I have for her is beyond words - I cannot express it. She has not, nor can she do, anything to earn my love. Just as she cannot earn my love, I cannot earn God's love, yet He continues to love and care for me. God is perfect in every way and there is nothing that I can do that will improve Him or add to Him in any way. This should result in an outpouring of love toward Him. How do I love Him? By obeying His commands. My obedience should not be a result of anything other than a response to His sacrificial, undying love for me. Knowing that I cannot add anything to God takes any desire to please God or to earn favor or merit from Him, because I can't.

Taking it a step further, I still love my daughter just the same when she's cranky and fussy. While I may not enjoy these times quite as much as when she's happy and content, I still love her just the same. Similarly, even when I'm sinning, God still loves me. This isn't an excuse to sin more (Romans 5:6-11; 6:1-2). I'm a wretched sinner - even my "good" works are filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). However, even in my sinfulness, He sent His Son as the ultimate sacrifice to cover and atone for my sins (Ephesians 2:1-10). That should be my motivation for loving, serving, and obeying Him.

How Deep the Father's Love For Us
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

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

©1995 Kingsway's Thankyou Music
Words and Music by Stuart Townend