John 15:9 As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love
Hope y'all had a good Father's Day yesterday! While my day started with lovely and meaningful texts from my children (and the gift of course), I was also thinking of and thanking God for my own Father who passed away few years back. Even more, I was praying for a friend's son who was all over my mind and in my prayers yesterday as he goes through Father's day without his earthly Father, for the first time.
Yes, what we consider as happiest day on earth is not so for everyone, some/most of the time. On such days, would you pause for a moment to pray and bless one such person or family? That's Fatherly love and compassion Jesus showed when he uttered the words above.
There was every reason why God the Father would love His only begotten son who left all of His glory in obedience to fulfil the redemption story, who lived a holy, perfect and sacrificial life and as scripture points us even obedience unto death on the cross (Phil 2:8).
For a moment, can you even fathom how Jesus could love His disciples the same way?
Disciples were far from perfect in any sense of the word. In spite of Jesus preaching and teaching them over and over, the redemption story of vicarious death on the cross and resurrection never dawned on them not only when Jesus was with them but even after He died. If they had believed even an iota of it, resurrection should not have been a surprise to them at all. Rather, when Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary mother of James came back from the tomb and announced the resurrection, disciples dismissed it as 'idle tales and did not believe them' (Luke 24:11). They mocked him on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24).
To cap it all, Judas Iscariot, the one who would betray Him one day is with him when Jesus uttered these precious words! What a savior, what a compassion, what a boundless love and what a 'Father' in HIM!!!
I don't know how you feel as a 'Dad'? Sometimes, I wonder if I am really what my children think I am or if I am what my spouse thinks I am? Above all, I wonder if I am anywhere even close to what my God thinks I am?
As much as Jesus understood disciples' ability to understand the redemption story, it never stopped Him from preaching and teaching them about it. As much as Jesus understood their inherent limitations, sin nature and shortcomings, it never stopped Him from loving them as His Father loved Him!
Who is one undeserving person, you choose to love today? In spite of all their imperfections, fault lines, shortcomings, terrible nature, betrayal, who is that one person who so much does not deserve your love, yet you love them anyway like Jesus?
We come to HIM 'just as we are' with every bit of deformities in us but expect everyone else to come in unblemished and perfect? How strange? Isn't that the reason we complain and murmur about others in and outside of the Church?
On this Father's Day week, would we learn to love like Jesus? Would we learn to obey like Jesus who lived to fulfil the mission His Father entrusted with Him? As earthly 'Fathers', we all have a mission God has entrusted with us, that starts with our own family but extends much beyond. Does our life reflect our progress in that mission journey? Do our children see a 'purpose driven life' in us in the first place to believe in the Jesus we tell them about?
The real expression of true love is obedience.
John 15:9 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
Abiding in love means obeying His commandments. That's how Jesus abided in His Father's love and that's the only way, we can abide in His love too. We come together NOT because we are perfect people but because we server a PERFECT GOD who is all sufficient for us.
In closing, being a 'Father' is not just about biological ability to reproduce. It is equally or even more important to have a 'Fatherly' heart like Jesus to love others like our Father in heaven would love them, no matter what! May His Fatherly love overflow in and through us for the world to see!
Happy Father's Day!
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