The Father’s Love
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar, and his word is not in us.
1 John 1:5-10 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1jn.1.5-10.NIV
No one can break a parent’s heart like our child can. As I pondered on my son’s death or the estrangement of my daughters through a disagreement or my shortcomings, with a broken heart, the Holy Spirit spoke tenderly, saying, “It is I they have rejected.” My heart hurt because I then realized how I’d grieved our heavenly Father, but with great mercy and compassion, He accepted me back in His loving arms when I went to Him with a heartfelt apology, which is true repentance.
One day, while talking to my granddaughter, she said she didn’t like Christians telling her to repent or go to hell. I asked her if she remembered the day she and her sister were trying to talk to me, but I was distracted by my phone. She shook her head yes. I asked her if she had ever seen me do that again after I apologized to them for ignoring them. She said no. I said I hurt you so badly that it broke my heart, and when I think about it now, it still hurts because I love you so much and never want to do that again. So when I see you, I put my phone down or leave it in my purse. That’s what repentance is: being genuinely sorry and changing the behavior.
God is a person; He made us in His image, and we are His children. None of us are perfect, but He is, and by His Perfect Love, He laid down His life so that we can have fellowship with Him through Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, His only begotten Son. Repentance is required, just as we seek forgiveness from those we injured so our children and we don’t live as we live in hell on earth. He also knows we can not change our sinful hearts, so He sent His Holy Spirit to live in our wicked hearts and cleanse us of all unrighteous sinful behaviors if we ask Him to help us, and He empowers us to live and love as His Son did here on earth. A Father’s love cannot be broken, even if we break His heart.
Abba, I know that I have repeatedly broken Your heart, and I have callously apologized. I see how entitled I’ve acted toward You and my sin; I’m so sorry for hurting You and rejecting Your Son. Many say they believe in You but leave Jesus out. How can someone tell me to leave my child and except me to come without him? LORD, even if my children reject me because of You, I cannot leave Jesus out. I love You, and I pray for my children and their children to receive Your Son as their Savior and Redeemer. It is in Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen
