A Blurry Picture of God's Love

   In 2018, Brad Lewis and his 8 year old son Oscar were playing with a Nerf gun on the balcony of their friend’s home in Sydney, Australia. Oscar fired the nerf gun at his dad and watched as some of the darts went bouncing over the edge of the balcony, dropping around 15 feet onto the concrete below. The young boy ran to the balcony railing and began leaning over the edge to see where the darts had landed. As his weight shifted forward, his feet began to leave the ground and he began to tumble over the edge. Brad saw his son begin to lose his balance and instantly ran over to him, trying to grab his waist or legs, but it was too late. His son’s momentum was pulling them both over the railing. 

  Brad was no stranger to risky situations. He had been in the military and had advanced in the ranks to become an officer. His training had prepared him to act quickly and decisively without considering the possible consequences to his own body. After leaving the army, Brad didn’t settle for an easy or comfortable job but instead began working with a deep sea construction company as a diver, placing his life on the line each time went down into the cold ocean waters. 

  All of his life and training prepared him for this moment where his son was teetering on the edge of a fall which would have resulted in serious injury or worse. He realized that the forces of momentum were too strong to keep them both on the balcony. Brad wrapped his arms around his son’s body as they both fell over the edge. In the split second before impact, he maneuvered himself to a position where he was underneath his son and closer to the ground, arms wrapped around him tightly to shield his head from the impact of the concrete. 

  They both hit the concrete hard and Brad felt a snap in his neck. Blood began to pool under his head as his friends came running around the corner of the house to see what happened. In this moment of uncertainty Brad was only concerned for his youngest son, asking if he was okay and warning his friend to keep his other child away so that he wouldn’t be traumatized by the sight of his father. “Don’t let them see me like this,” he said. 

  An ambulance arrived shortly after this and both father and son were taken away to the hospital. Oscar maintained only minor injuries as Brad’s mid-air maneuver likely saved his life and shielded him from most of the impact.  Brad had fractured his neck and skull among other serious injuries but thankfully his spinal cord was still intact. In the months following the accident his wife took leave from her job and helped him to make a full recovery. 

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  Brad’s story is one of tremendous sacrifice and love for his son. His physical skill in acting quickly and decisively is amazing, but the intention to sacrifice himself for the well-being of his son is not uncommon. Any good father being placed in the same scenario would put himself in harm’s way to save their child. In smaller ways, all parents make sacrifices for their children every day. Whether it be by waking up in the middle of the night to comfort a newborn or driving miles to help when their son or daughter has a child of their own. 

  The heart of a parent is one of great love for their children. We see this in countless examples of people all around us. Jesus addressed this in Luke 11:11-13 when he says, “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent, or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” 

  Jesus takes this picture of an earthly father’s interaction with his son, and uses it to describe God’s relationship with His children. If a son approached his earthly father and asked for a missing ingredient for dinner, wouldn’t the earthly father comply? And if so, how much more does God desire to give us when we ask Him? The principle He applies is directly related to prayer, but it also can be understood to be broader than this. The greater principle is that God’s relationship with us is deeper and his love is greater than what can be exemplified in any earthly relationship. This means that the best possible example of an earthly father’s love is truly small and insignificant when compared to our heavenly Father’s love and care for us. 

  Do we really understand the magnitude of this? Think of the comfort you may receive from someone who you are in a trusting relationship with. The people in our lives who we may run to when times are difficult. We share our troubles with them knowing that they will hear us and understand us because of their love for us. But compared with the love of God these are only dim pictures. They point to the great and unfathomable depths of the love that God has for His children. 

  Brad’s love for his child was shown clearly in his story and he proved it in his moment of sacrificing himself. As amazing as this story is, God’s love for us is infinitely greater than any earthly father’s love. God loves his children in a way that we can not even imagine with our dim understanding here on earth. His love is so great that no words can even describe how amazing it is or the level that God our Father would go to sacrifice for us. And God has tangibly demonstrated His love for us in sending his Son to save us from the greatest danger we could ever face. It is not only a proclaimed love but it is also a love which has been proven.  A love which defines all others, as 1 John 3:16 says, “This is how we know what love is, Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” 

  Every time we see a mother or father caring for their child we should be reminded of the greater picture that it points to. The greater love, which we have received and will receive from God. The greater sacrifice, which was the Savior’s life being given to save us from judgment and condemnation. A love like this is not conditional, it is pure and untouched by our failures and sin because it's root is in Christ’s righteousness. 

  So believers, rejoice in this love. Revel in it. Be glad in the fullness and depth of God’s love for you. Most Christians only scratch the surface in their understanding of God’s love for them. They live in poverty when they have immeasurable riches at their disposal. If they would only take the time to look in God’s word and see, they could have so much more joy and peace that comes from the happy knowledge of their standing before God. 

  Those Christians who do study to know and understand God’s love for them will find it to be a joyful journey, but never one that they will come close to finishing. God’s love is too vast to be discovered in one lifetime. Like overlooking a beautiful view of a mountain range, the immensity of God’s love should both awe us and drive our passion to explore and learn more of what we see. Be relentless in discovering God’s love for you in Christ and glorify Him with praise for what He has done!

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 Psalm 63:1-4 “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.”

Leaky Faith: God's Work through Uncertainty

    “An old Chinese farmer saved up small amounts of money over a year to buy a new horse. Just a day after the farmer bought the horse, it ran away. His neighbour expressed grief, but the farmer himself was calm. “I hope you can get over this bad news” said the neighbor. “Good news or bad news, can’t say” replied the farmer.

   The next day, the horse returned to the farmer’s house by itself, and brought another stray horse with it. “Cheer up, we’re going to multiply our farm income. That’s great news” said the farmer’s son. “Good news or bad news, can’t say” replied the farmer and carried on with his work.

   A week later, the farmer took the first horse to his farm and his son took the second horse to follow his father to work. On the way, the second horse pushed the boy down and ran away. The boy’s leg was fractured badly. That evening back home, the farmer’s wife groaned “We will have to spend all our extra savings on our son’s broken leg. What terrible news”. Once again, the farmer replied: “Good news or bad news, can’t say.”

   A month later, the farmer’s King announced a war on the neighboring nation. Citing a lack of foot soldiers, the King ordered all able-bodied men in the nation to get drafted into the military without excuses. The farmer’s son was spared because of his broken leg. Later, the inexperienced soldiers got slaughtered in the war. “You are lucky that your son did not get drafted. Mine returned with severe injuries. Many have been handicapped or killed” complained the farmer’s best friend. Unabashed, the farmer responded: “Good news or bad news, can’t say”. (1)

   I’m sure that many of us have heard this fable about the wise farmer. This story illustrates a truth common to human experience which is that we know very little about how circumstances affect our lives. So often we think of circumstances as either being “good” or “bad,” but this is over-simplistic thinking. What we think of as being “bad” may in the end really be good. And sometimes what we think of as “good,” can hold dangers which may cause us to fall. 

   But underlying every situation, the Christian can be confident that God is sovereignly working through everything to accomplish His plan and His good purposes. Even through we often sin, fail and make poor decisions, His wisdom supersedes our feeble understanding of the world which He created. 

   Recently we ran into a plumbing problem at our house. The toilet shut-off valve started leaking and would not stop even after being turned to the “shut” position. I crawled under the house following the rusty pipes looking for another valve to stop the leak to the bathroom, but there was nothing to do besides turning the water off to the entire house. Under the dripping toilet valve was a crumbling metal pipe that probably should have been replaced years ago but somehow was still intact. I knew that this simple leak would probably turn into a huge headache and since I know very little about plumbing repair a professional needed to be called. 

   Because we rent the home we are in, we were not responsible for the financial cost of this repair, however, it was an inconvenience to be without water for a day or two. Also I felt bad for my dad who, being the landlord, had to add this problem onto his already large slate of difficulties he deals with every day. Kristin and I were feeling the pressure and stress of the situation and were struggling to see anything “good” in what God was doing in this situation, even though it was only a small inconvenience.

   A couple of days later when the workers arrived, they did an excellent job and worked tirelessly to get the job done. The crawlspace under our house is very narrow which requires anyone trying to access the bathroom to slide on their belly for at least 15-20 feet in some places, pressing themselves into the ground and hoping that they clear the floor joists. 

   When the workers finished, they told us that something felt off about the whole thing. The pressure in the house still wasn’t what it should be with the replaced line. So they went and checked the wellhouse. There they found that the main pipe coming out of the well was broken, resulting in a contained flood which kept the pump running 24/7 with the switch melted into the “on” position. 

 

    Since the well pump is submerged and quiet we had no idea this was happening. Every day for an unknown amount of time the pump had been running constantly which would have resulted in an eventual overheating and “burn up”. If it wasn’t for the leaky bathroom valve, within a short period of time this unknown problem at the well-house would have turned into a much more expensive repair. 

   Now looking back at this situation it was clear that God was working even through this minor inconvenience. Often it may be years before we see what God is working to accomplish but in this case it was only a matter of a little more than 24 hours. I am ashamed of my lack of faith in what God was doing, allowing myself to become stressed and anxious so quickly. 

   As we recognize how little we really understand about the circumstances of our lives our response can go one of two ways (or be a mixture of both). First, we can be fearful and afraid of everything that happens to us, because each change may represent a threat that is unseen. Or instead we can trust, being confident that the Maker of the universe can absolutely produce good from our knee injury or car accident. The sovereign Lord who has found a way to save fallen mankind can absolutely take a plumbing problem and turn it into a cause for rejoicing. 

   Scripture reminds us of this truth of God’s ability to turn each situation into good. Romans 8:28 states that “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” 

   Because of our naturally unbelieving hearts this truth can not be simply absorbed when we read it for the first time. Instead it is learned from our day to day challenges as we practice our faith by responding to each situation God sovereignly places in our lives.  Over time, our faith grows as we are challenged over and over again to trust God in every circumstance. 

   This growth is illustrated in Scripture as Abraham demonstrates his lack of faith time and time again early in the account of his life. He claims that his wife is his sister to avoid being killed and also doubts Sarah’s ability to have a child by impregnating Hagar. But as he sees God’s sovereign intervention over and over he grows in his faith, even to the point of being willing to sacrifice his only son to be obedient to God’s will. Later in Abraham’s life he blindly sends his servant to a faraway land to find Isaac a wife, trusting that God would provide yet again. Through all of this growth God shows incredible patience to Abraham as He does to us who are in Christ as we feebly seek to trust Him.

   The Christian can take comfort in knowing that the darkest situation anyone has ever been in has already happened on the cross. If God can take Christ’s death and produce glory, He can take our comparably small inconveniences of life and produce greater faith, patience and further reasons to worship Him. His hidden hand works in the dark while we cry out because of our pain and weakness. We live in hope for the day these things will be revealed and we can worship Him to an even fuller extent.

References

1. https://medium.com/@dineshsairam/the-chinese-farmer-and-his-horse-what-is-the-meaning-of-life-9fba73f689eb