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Coffee With God: 10/3/2024 | 1 John 3:1
Do you ever feel like walking with God is too difficult? Like he is just waiting for you to fall so he can scold or punish you? Sadly, some people perceive and portray our heavenly father in this way, but nothing could be further from the truth!
Imagine a young dad going for a walk with his little boy who is just learning to walk. The toddler is doing just fine until he takes a tumble and falls, as little ones often do.
Would his father scold him, disown him, or punish him for falling? Of course not. A loving father would help him up, brush off the dirt, and hold his hand as they continued walking together. A good father would even carry his little one if he became weary.
Why? Because a good father loves his children and knows what is best for them. Even though the little one cannot possibly comprehend the depth of his father’s love, he knows that he is safe in his arms because his father nurtures and cares for him.
Just as children learn to trust their parents as they receive and respond to their love, we learn to love and trust our heavenly father as we walk with him daily.
As we learn to recognize his care and provision in our lives, we begin to comprehend the depth of his love for us — a love so great that he would send his only begotten son into a cruel world to offer himself as a sacrifice for our sins — in greater ways.
" Just as children learn to trust their parents as they receive and respond to their love, we learn to love and trust our heavenly father as we walk with him daily."
1 John 3:1 says, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are.” If you have accepted Christ Jesus as your savior, you are a child of God. He loves you more than you can possibly imagine. Nothing will ever change that.
The apostle Paul put it this way, “I am convinced that nothing will ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [1]
As we walk with the Lord daily we do our best to keep in step with his Spirit. But how does our heavenly father respond to us when we stumble and fall? Does he berate us or punish us? Does he walk away from us until we can get it together and walk without falling? Of course not.
The Psalmist reminds us, “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him; For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.”[2]
Many of us have trouble forgiving ourselves. We wrongly believe that if we could have greater faith or be better Christians we could walk with the Lord and never falter.
It is important to remember that God is the one who created us; he knows how fallible we are. He promises his children, “Even to your old age…I will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you.”[3]
As our loving heavenly father, he expects nothing more of us than to walk faithfully with him. When we fall, he is right there to help us up. And when we are too weary to go on, he carries us safely in his arms until our strength is restored.
[1] Romans 8:38
[2] Psalm 103:13-14
[3] Isaiah 46:4
A reminder that God loves you.
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