The Father’s Awesome Love

Lily is spotted and speckled with the long torso of a typical wiener dog but also with an extraordinarily lengthy and pointed nose that looks out of proportion from the rest of her body. She easily illustrates the expression “She has a face that only a mother could love.” Lily definitely has some bad habits including using any turf inside or out as a place to potty. She is the third of three dogs, adopted into the family because the elderly woman who was her prior owner just couldn’t manage her anymore and my daughter and her husband felt sorry for her. Because of Lily, all three dogs spent much of their day either outdoors or in the inside kennel so that not only would she not add her own special decorations to the carpeting, but that she would also be able to have the companionship of her doggie brother and sister. We believed that they were likely not always fond of the arrangement since their household manners were in check. Besides, those disparaging glances and sarcastic little snarls were telltale signs of two very annoyed little pups.

All kidding aside, with a growing family of small children, my daughter knew that she did not have the time or ability to train Lily to be a better-behaved girl. She and her husband were beginning to assess their options regarding a new home for Lily with someone who could give her the attention she needed. There were the neighbors who expressed an interest in taking her. But, during a holiday visit to our home with the three human kids and the three furry babies along for the ride, a perfect answer came into being. Our oldest grandson, Anthony, met Lily and heard about the family dilemma. The bond was instantaneous! The moment Anthony looked at Lily and knew her plight, his heartstrings were struck, and he immediately asked to take her home. According to his mom, Anthony is “head-over-heals in love with this girl.” He has taken her on a hike and to Starbucks for a Puppucino – I’ve never heard of such a thing, but apparently it is a treat that is the rave of every sophisticated pooch. The point is that in spite of any negative traits she may have and nothing that warrants his love, Anthony is a doting dad with an incredible amount of affection, care, and joyful delight toward this needy little creature. He sees her as beautiful. The fondness does go both ways, but Anthony initiated the relationship and Lily is the blissful beneficiary of Anthony’s compassion, mercy, and kindness.

Anthony’s overtures toward Lily remind me of Someone Else who is even more loving, kind, and caring toward the recipients of his affection. God looks at us, speckled, spotted, unmannerly us, with eyes that take the shape of Valentine hearts that genuinely see us as beautiful and the object of his affection and delight. We do nothing to merit his grace and favor, but he is our doting Dad who initiates the relationship and lavishes his love on us. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us” (1 John 4:10a, ESV). This love he has for us brings abundant life and blessing. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-7, ESV). He patiently waits for us to return his love, and he is always available when we come to him. “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23, ESV). Needy creatures that we are, we are most definitely the blissful beneficiaries of his relationship with us.

Sitting on Dad’s lap; feeling his caring and protective arms in a loving embrace; enjoying his attention and affection. Yes, this describes Lily in her loving new home, but for God’s children, this is our certain and distinctive reality. There is nothing like the awesome love of the Father!

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