Have you ever met someone who was a doofus, a knucklehead, or just not a great human being, but their mother is so proud of them anyway?  And when someone says something bad about their son or daughter, generally speaking a mother will defend them almost as if they were blind?

It’s because a mother’s love is not based on what their child does, but who they are.  They are a child.  They are a son.  They are a daughter.

How much greater love is the love of God?  Is it not greater than a mother’s?

We screw up.  We are the ones who don’t get it right over and over.  We are the ones who are not what we know God wants us to be.  And you know what?  God still loves us.

Because it’s not based upon our behavior.  But based on our position with him as sons and daughters.  In Christ, we become his children.  It says we were adopted into his family.

And you know what?  It falls upon the parents when they adopt a child to show that child great love.  Even when the child has “issues.”  Lots of them.

And the delight of the parent?  When a child responds to that love.  Is joyful.  Happy.  And becomes secure in that love.

We are his children.  God’s pleasure is that we receive His love for us.

Here’s another reality.  It’s not such a pretty picture.

We don’t understand sometimes why God does or does not do something.

He doesn’t answer a really good prayer.
He sometimes doesn’t heal us or someone we love.
We feel alone in the world and wonder where is the glorious answered prayer that we hear from others.

The truth is our hearts hurt and we can begin to hold that against God.  We can think to ourseves,

If God loved me, he would have ________________.
If God loved us, he would not have ___________________.
If God loves me, why doesn’t he ______________________?

If he doesn’t do these things, then maybe he doesn’t love me.  Maybe I’m his leftover.  Maybe I’m a disappointment to him.  Maybe I’m not enough for Him.

Certainly he loves others.  That’s obvious.  But I’m just not enough to receive the fullness of his love.

Sure, I’m in the family.  But the black sheep.  The outsider.  The left out one.

At least that’s the way we can feel sometimes.

But here’s the facts:

He loves us.

He is the Father in the parable of the prodigal son that ran to his son, despite his behavior,
He is the one who calls us friend.
He is the one who rejoices over us with singing.  Singing!

There are things we don’t understand.  We really want to know why and/or why not.  But sometimes we have to put our need to understand they why in a box and set it aside.  These are not faith issues.  These are heart issues.

Then we refuse to let those things we don’t understand poison our understanding of his love.

Today I was in the store and a mother walked by with a screaming and crying baby in her arms.  The young child was sobbing with his/her head on their mother’s shoulder.

I wondered if the mother disciplined him or her, and the child didn’t understand why.

A child doesn’t have the picture.

Neither do we.

But let’s trust in his love.   He truly loves us.  We might not understand all of his ways, but He always acts in love.  Always.

Is not God greater than a mother?  Greater than the mother who is blind to how bad her children really are?  She is blinded by love.  But with God, he sees it all.  And loves us anyway.

So let’s weep when we fail and we see the Father running to us.
Let’s stand in awe that He would call us His friend and communicate with us.
And let’s be like children that dance and smile and laugh when He sings His love over us.

You are loved.

And so am I.