To be loved by a child opens
up a place in our heart that we never know exists until little eyes and little
hearts look at us with complete devotion of affection and
innocence.
Our son Noah has
discovered such blessedness in the last five years since the birth of his
children Jackson and Emma. As he
prepares for another deployment with the United States Marine Corp and the
separation from Jackson and Emma it will involve, the gift of their love becomes
even more known and appreciated.
Just before Noah
returned last week from a several month period of training, Jackson, who had
been counting down the days until his dad’s return, said, “Tomorrow my daddy
comes home. Tomorrow is the
greatest day of my life!” (I’ve not yet been able to think about that statement
without accompanying tears.
Probably never will).
I believe, hopefully
with a great deal of reverence, that there is a childlike quality in God’s love
for us. By this, I don’t discount
His infinite greatness, or the deep reverence and even fear that must
characterize the perception of our awe-inspiring Creator. However, the Bible
frequently speaks of the love of God for us in terms of the most rapt and
affectionate devotion. I do not
think it is inappropriate, therefore, to see in the child’s love a ray of light
that reveals a particularly sublime aspect of the Divine heart wherein we
discover our belovedness in the eyes of God.
It is a great day in
our Father’s heart, as it were, when we come home to Him. This is true in the case of the
unbeliever’s salvation: “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven
over one sinner that repenteth”
(Luke 15:7). In similar manner, the
approach of believers to the throne of grace blesses God far more than we can
imagine - “The prayer of the upright is His delight” (Proverbs 15:8). Of all Biblical truth, I find this to be
the most sanctifying, the most motivating, the most thrilling, the most
convicting, and above all, the most love-inspiring. “We love Him because He first loved us”
(I John 4:19).
You can learn a lot from the
heart of a child. The Maker of such
beautiful things deposits qualities of Himself in little eyes, voices, and
yearnings of young souls who reveal a pure intensity of devotion often difficult
to find in older hearts. Perhaps
this explains our Lord’s command to “suffer the little children to come unto
Me.” Yes, He saw something of
Himself in such ones, even as the childhood He lived confirms that little ones
have something to tell us about the love of the good and great
One.
I thank you in advance for
your prayers for Noah and his family as he deploys for a season of service to
his nation. And I look forward to
another “greatest day of my life” when Jackson and Emma will again have counted
down the days until their daddy’s return.
When I think of that blessed time, I’ll try to remember the lesson that
shines forth from their devotion, revealing another and even greater
Love…
“The Lord taketh
pleasure in His people.”
(Psalm
149:4)
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