He slowly, quietly opened the bedroom door and looked into
the dimly lit room. The early morning sunlight allowed him to see her on the
bed with her eyes closed. He walked over
to her, bent down and gently kissed her on the forehead. She looked so peaceful and beautiful. With a
quick turn, he left with a smile knowing he would not see her before she left
out of town. Actually he would not see
her again for several months.
A scene from a paperback romance novel? No, actually me giving my daughter a good-bye
kiss before she left for her drive back to school. A father’s love is not the love of the steamy,
passionate, erotic novels. It is the agape,
unconditional love that gives a child security and tenderness no matter if they
are aware it is present or not. It
reminds me of our heavenly Father’s love for us.
Have you ever considered that God might actually be waiting by
your bedside for you to awaken? After
placing a gentle kiss on your forehead, He smiles and waits for you to join Him
in the day. He has people to love that day and
He wants to invite you to come along with Him and love them with Him.
So, what if you wake up, and your mind is on the hurry,
worry, flurry of the day ahead? You didn’t
realize the wake up kiss had come and you didn’t join your Father in a loving
walk that day. It doesn’t mean His wasn’t
there, or that He wasn’t excited to see you, or that He doesn’t love you. When you realize this, you will know His love
is not conditional on what you could do, but on what He does.
I am not always a tender, gentle, unconditionally loving
father to my children. I can be an
inspecting dad, or a distant dad, or angry dad with hurtful words. Thankfully I have a heavenly Abba “daddy”
Father who will show me how to love. It
is that love of Him that allows my children to be forgiving to me when I don’t
match up my way of love to them like their Abba Father does. I am so grateful for that.
Do you see the heavenly Father as distant, too busy running the universal to care about little ole
you? Or maybe you think of Him as inspecting? Watching you and waiting for you to mess up
and then He will be right there to convict you. Of what if He is excited to see you and be with you for
the day?
How do you perceive Him; Distant, Inspecting or Excited? Why do you think that?
Great post, Keith. I like the thought of God waiting by my bedside to wake me up and join Him for the day. I love the fact that God is close and not far away.
ReplyDeleteMy Heavenly Father is a kind, tolerant, and loving God. He is profoundly interested in every little thing that I am concerned with- just like any good parent tries to be.
ReplyDeleteI used to think that God was too "busy" with wars and pestilence and other enormous tragedies to be bothered with my small concerns. But I endured some pretty rough years where I failed to ask for His or anyone else to help me, yet he remained faithful to me. Only then did I come to realize how important I am to Him. He IS excited to see me each day!
It is great to look back and see how He has been there when we thought we were alone. When you said, ..."I come to realize"...I saw that word different than before. Realize. Real-eyes. Seeing it for, or as real.
ReplyDeleteI loved this Keith. I was kinda like your previous reader, didn't really understand God cares about every aspect of our life and is there to help even with the smallest concerns. He is still teaching me that I can depend upon Him in whatever situation I find myself in. He truly is a loving Father that cares enough to also discipline when needed. The bible says He disciplines those He loves. He is merciful, kind and slow to anger. He also expects our obedience, just like a good parent because He know when we walk in His ways it will keep us from the traps of the enemy. I am not afraid of God in the way He is waiting for me to mess up but I do fear Him in a reverant way because we are told to through His Word. Again I loved the thought of Him waiting for me to wake me up with a kiss. I truly believe that. Karen
ReplyDeleteKeith...this is great. I am in a cloud of my own right now, and if I had to choose, it would be distant, although I know that is not truth. What's crazy is that I have been ready material like what you have written more over the last few days than ever...such blogs and "experiencing God". This adds to what I believe God wants me to know. I see the need to become much more aware of my surroundings and what God is doing in the day to day. God most definitely has people for me to love this day and I realized last night while sitting on my front porch that I had not been loving my neighbors...AT ALL. I am always gone and they know that. I prided myself in busyness. God brought that to my attention last night. Thank you for sharing Keith...keep writing. I miss seeing your family when I come up that way. Hope all is well.
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Thank you for the encouragement, Keith. Please continue to be sensitive to His leading like you are. You are not alone in the busyness that keeps us from having time to "be" with those near us. I should blog about not having time for my neighbors, it is a painful subject for me.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Keith. I love the imagery and the story it creates.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read it, I though the only way I could ever see My Father as “distant”, is if I was the one who had put the distance between us…like the prodigal who left his first love and ended up with pigs. I rarely see Him as “inspecting;” that role usually falls to me. I’m too introspective and more frequently I do the inspecting, accusing, convicting, and sentencing while My Father is trying to say “Drop it…that’s already been paid for.” And, too honestly, I don’t often see “excited.” That puts too much focus on me and maybe my self-image doesn’t feel that deserving.
What do I see in My Father? “Longing”… perhaps . “Patient,”… always. “Challenging, urging, stimulating”… always. I feel as if he’s a passionate coach/trainer who won’t let me fail, who won’t let me quit, who knows going deeper with Him is more rewarding than where I’m content to sit, who urgently knows what joy lies just around the corner, if only I will trust Him and dwell in Him. He won’t do it for me, but He feels such joy when we do it together, when I overcome temptation, when I spend that sleepless night in sweet communion with Him, when we meditate on His Word together, when deep calls unto deep and I’m not a coward,…but jump in. That’s when I feel His pleasure…and my Father smiles. That’s when the words “Well done” are more than enough.
Beautiful words, Bob. As I have asked this question of people in the past, it has been interesting how the choice of one of the three examples was tied to their perception of God as it related to their relationship with their earthly father or mother. Disconnecting that unfair comparsion freed them to explore who He really is. He truly is all you described and there is so much more of Him to know!
ReplyDeleteI would be Excited :)) <3 !!! Remember ... It's a Love Story Folks <3 <3 <3 ... John 14:1-3 Is what a Jewish Groom says to His Betrothed <3 I am Anxiously Awaiting my Kinsman Redeemer's Return <3 ... He is knocking on others heartsdoor too Rev. 3:20 <3 ... i Look for His Love Notes to me Daily ~ Zeph. 3:17 ~ and pray for Fresh Oil every morning - Matt. 25: 1-13 ... i then listen for The Trumpet of Jesus .... 1Thess. 4:16 ~ Shalom out
ReplyDeleteYes, Jeff it is a love story! Nice connection to the bride and the wedding.
ReplyDeleteI would have to say, I see God as excited! Isn’t it interesting how we tend to look at God purely from the perspective of our heavenly ‘father’? As we grow in understanding of His all encompassing self by searching scripture, we learn God fits the characteristics of many of our natural relationships; father, brother and spouse. In 1John we learn that Jesus was the word, thus Jesus was God. If we join this truth with the fact that Jesus calls us brothers we gain a different relationship with God, brothers. This is in no way implying we are equal with God. He is Sovereign! God is so big it’s impossible for us to wrap our minds around His purposes for our various connections. I guess I am left feeling the reason He considers us brothers is because we wants us to join him equally in His call. Finally, God also refers to us as the bride of Christ, yet another relational characteristic. And yes this one passionate! This one is clearly the most intimate of all. And again, it is for His good purpose. I will leave it up to you to discern His purpose in this relationship. It’s not that I don’t have my own ideas, I very much do. Is it because God gets excited, aroused when we seek Him?
ReplyDelete"He has people to love that day and He wants to invite you to come along with Him and love them with Him."
ReplyDeleteOh Keith that is a beautiful awakening and declaration of the relationship with our Heavenly Abba Father-somedays I'm excited about His invitation and somedays I would rather pull the covers over my head and not deal with the difficult people out there. Remembering God's gracious, unfailing and unconditional love. Jesus bought, paid, and purchased us ALL when He poured out his love on the cross. Praying increased faith, love, and hope, as I put my hand in His each morning, the arms and hands of Love.
Thank you for this inspiring post.
As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. (Isaiah 62:5)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great contrast of our attitude in the scene where we pull the covers over our head to the one where we go out hand in hand. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteExcited! When I realized how God felt about me, it changed my awareness of Him. Now the most natural thing for me to do when I first wake up is to pray "I love you" and "Thank you . . ." It is an amazing way to start the day and continue throughout the day. If I truly believe that God is the perfect father and perfect love of my life, it changes how I relate to Him and teaches me how to love others like He loves me.
ReplyDeleteRealizing the truth and staying connected seem to be a solid way to feel love and share it. Thanks Brenda!
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