The Love of The Father to The Son

I have been thinking about the love God has given us as fathers toward our sons, how it relates to Him and the Lord Jesus Christ and to us as his children. Now that you have been away for almost eight months, and even though we have seen you almost every two or three months, your presence is conspicuous. But more than this I have realize how great is my love for you. I find myself praying for you every morning as I go to work and then when I am on my daily runs. I thank God for giving us a great son like you. My understanding of the love of a father has become more deep and personal. It is something very hard to explain until you have a son. Some day, Lord willing, you will have a son.You will understand how great is the love that one can have for a son. It is beyond explanation and sentiment. It is also especially meaningful when you know that your son is so much like you, like you are, for better or worse. Undeniably, you are my son. My first-born. As I continue to see you grow and mature as a man, I am so thankful for having you and for the profound love that I have for you. So I asked myself, “Where does this come from?” The obvious answer is that it is from God. God is love the Bible says. He created us, not out of necessity but out of love. When he created us he gave us apart of himself that we call the image of God (Imago Dei). The ability to love is a characteristic of God. That bond that exists between father and son, you and me, was given by Him. It is inexpressible and incomprehensible. But as I continue to ponder upon it I think of the love of God towards his Son Jesus Christ. Given that this relationship is also quite incomprehensible (because it is part of the Trinity) and hard to understand Ican only glimpse the surface. I think of what God felt when he released his son to us. It is no wonder the very first words uttered by God when Jesus is publicly presented as Messiah are “This is my son, in whom I am very well pleased.” This shows the great love of God towards his son. God loved The Son more than we can comprehend. Yet, their relationship was interrupted by our own sins. When Jesus was hanging on the cross he called out, “Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani,”“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.” (Matthew 27:45-46) Jesus experienced a separation from God. I can’t quite explain what it means but I am certain it hurt The Father even more. Nothing hurts us fathers than to see our sons suffer. I hope I never have to experience this. The separation that I now experience from youis nothing compared to what Jesus and God experienced at the cross. But thiswas necessary for us. He loved us. His love is beyond all measure. God’s love for us is even greater than the love we have for our sons. Not only does God love us but our Lord Jesus Christ loves us with the same love. Isn’t this amazing?

Yet, I am forever grateful to God for allowing me to experience and to comprehend what it means to have the love of a father. I can never come close to loving you the way The Father loves but I share a part of Him. Some day you might also experience this as well. But even while you are growing and becoming a man on your own, you not only know of my love for you, but also of the love of The Father towards you. It is an amazing love.

The Love of God

The love of God is greater far

Than tongue or pen can ever tell.

It goes beyond the highest star

And reaches to the lowest hell.

The guilty pair, bowed down with care,

God gave His Son to win;

His erring child He reconciled

And pardoned from his sin.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made;

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above

Would drain the oceandry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.

– Frederick Lehman, 1917

I love you my son,

Daddy!