Agape...

Walking up the driveway of the family I was going to babysit for tonight, I found one of their boys standing there; phone in hand, staring up at the sky:

"Pay Jay," Nathan said, (this is the name he's always called me) "will you help me find out how much my Dad loves me?"

Realizing Nathan's Dad was on the phone, he was holding, I heard his Dad say: "Tell Pay Jay to help you find the moon." It took a little bit of searching, but we found it hiding between the trees, big, bright, and beautiful. I had to pick him up and carry him out into the street so we could see it.

"I found it Dad, I see it!" exclaimed Nathan. He was so excited.

"I love you to the moon and back" said his Dad. At this point the phone was on the driveway and Nathan was bent over it with an unsatisfied look on his face. "That's not all, is it?"

"Oh no, son," his Dad said "I love you much more; to the Moon, the Sun, to Mars, and back more than you can count."

That melted my heart. A simple conversation between a 4-year-old and his Father... made me dwell on the Love relationship with our Father in heaven. How much does our Father love us? It's innumerable. To the universe and back a million times over. More then our minds could ever fathom. This love and grace that is freely and abundantly offered to me… yet how does my life reflect, accept, live, use that love? God loves us perfectly. Nothing we say or do can make Him love us any less or anymore. That is why He is God.

What is love? It’s patient and it’s kind. It is not jealous and does not brag. Love is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly. Love does not seek it’s own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered. Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but love does rejoice with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ever not once will not cannot won’t fail. (adapted from 1 Corinthians 13)

If the cry of our hearts is: “Father I want to know you more and be more like you?” Then the above attributes are the game plan. God is love. And I want to be like that anxious 4-year-old with his Dad on the phone next to him. I want more God… to know Him… understand Him… love Him more… and as a child waiting for their Father to return home, I want to be looking up waiting for His soon return. I want to spread the love of my Father to every nation, that all might know, understand, and believe… entering into this amazing relationship with the creator of the universe… I want to be love to everyone I meet.

“When are you coming back Abba? I’m ready and eager and in the meantime I’m going to look and see and discover how much you love me.”

“But now faith, hope, love, abide, but the greatest of these three is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13

(picture mine: Sun rise on the Sea of Galilee)