Monday, January 22

The Father's Heart

Here's another message from Bill Bright.

All glory to God, who is able to keep you from stumbling (Jude 24, NLT).

Dear friends:

Our two sons, Zac and Brad, are both grown now and both are serving the Lord in full-time ministry. Experiences with them as children taught us many things about how our heavenly Father views us.

Many years ago, my wife Vonette and I were walking down a shallow stream in Yosemite National Park with our sons, who were very small at the time. Because the rocks were slippery, I was holding our five-year-old son, Brad, by the hand. Suddenly Brad slipped, and his feet went out from under him. I held him firmly until he regained his balance. As we continued on our walk, Brad looked up at me and said, "Daddy, I'm sure glad you saved me from falling."

At that moment I was reminded how my heavenly Father has kept me from falling on many occasions. We walked in silence for a few minutes. Then Brad gazed up into my face again and said, "Daddy, I'm glad you're holding my hand." This time tears came to my eyes as I said to my Father in Heaven, "I'm so glad you hold me by the hand; I'm so prone to fall." I am reminded of the words from Jude 24, above.

My two sons mean more to me than I could ever begin to put into words. On another day when they were small, as I was preparing a message, Zac suddenly appeared with a stack of books and sat down across the table from me. I sensed the warmth of his love, even though he didn't want to interrupt my study. My heart melted, and I broke the silence: "Zac," I said, "I want you to know how much it means to me that you have come to sit with me."

He replied, "Daddy, that's the reason I've come -- I just want to be with you."

Suddenly, for the first time in my life, I really understood how the great heart of our loving Father longs for fellowship with man. If I delight in my sons and long to be with them and tell them that I love them and care for them, surely God's delight in us is infinitely greater because His capacity for love is so much greater.

Let us return His love, with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength.

Yours for fulfilling the Great Commission each year until our Lord returns,

Bill Bright

2 comments:

megs said...

WOW a great example of how deep God's love really is for all of us. no matter how we fall or how FAR we fall, if we come back to Him He will open His arms and embrace us w/ his love! i know that if it was MY job i wouldn't be so willing to do that. and that is EXACTLY why God is God and megan is NOT!! :)

Anonymous said...

The funny thing about being with our Heavenly Father is that we should be begging to be with Him because of our status. Instead He is begging us.