[386 words]
God is love (1 John 4:8). In my opinion the best place to start an attempt to grasp something that is unfathomable is beginning with something we do understand: family. When our children were born, what joy they brought in our lives and oh, so many concerns. If we were the parents we should have been, we showered them with love and discipline. As they grew, we trained them to seek things that were good and right and taught them to avoid things that were bad and wrong. With varying degrees of success in those endeavors, we were deeply motivated. The superficial reason that is most often given is that they may avoid calamity and be successful in business and life. The real treasure–less often spoken of–is our desire that they return to us love. The proof in that pudding manifests itself in their doing what we taught them, desiring to do well, and having a general disdain toward causing us pain.
Jesus said it best: “If you love me keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Many of us bemoan the pain our children have caused us, conveniently forgetting the pain we have caused our Father. Many spend time in wonder at what it must have taken for Jesus to come here and suffer and die and rightly so. However, I wonder if we overlook how much it must have taken for God to “send” him. What we desire of our children is what God wants from his. Obedience? Yes, but more than that. A desire to be obedient, hence the true proof of love returned. When I tell my son I love him, he says, “I love you more.” I smile and say “You can’t.” When he asks me why, I realize I have made the first step toward understanding God’s love for me. Alas, the broken commandments whether spiritual or paternal are truly grievous but nothing compares to the hurt we incur from a love unreturned.
We can’t ever adequately fulfill God’s will in our lives without a desire to do so, and the basis for that desire is love. As people you hear speak of “those impossible children,” and remark, “it just ain’t worth it,” smile and nod knowing all the while its worth so much more (John 3:16).
Tim Turpin
Ware Branch church of Christ
Harrison, TN