John 3:16
My parents are undoubtedly my biggest fans. To them, I am (and will always be) their little girl. In my parents’ eyes, I am a picture perfect daughter (minus the fact that I hardly make my bed and will always leave a half full glass on the living room end table—but hey! It happens.) I take exceptionally heavy course loads every semester and repeatedly achieve high marks in my courses. On top of this, I work 3 jobs on campus while balancing the multiple organizations that I am a member of, if not in charge of. Most notably, I have dedicated my college career encouraging those around me to achieve their full potential. I give my parents endless credit for who I am and I am eternally thankful for all they have given me. Their love, however, cannot compare to the love God has for me.
Now let’s take a look at another parent-child relationship: the relationship between God, the Father, and Jesus, His Son. First, let’s examine a few of the obvious differences between me and Jesus. First, Jesus is the Son of God; I am the daughter of Scott and Tammy. In my opinion, both are pretty awesome, but one at little more so. (Lucky for me, I too am a daughter of God!) I was born a sinner; Jesus, on the other hand, was born into this world as the ultimate sacrifice in order to grant me forgiveness for my sin. Now let’s pretend for a second that Jesus and I were siblings in the here and now. I’m going to venture and say that Mr. and Mrs. VanSparrentak would have a clear favorite, and not solely for the fact that Jesus would probably make his bed and put his glass in the dishwasher. So what makes my worldly parents different from God, my Father?
Well, despite already having the perfect Son, He loves me as if I were His one and only. I will never be second best in God’s eyes. In fact, He was willing to give up his only Son so that I may have eternal life, and not because He thinks I am perfect. Like my dad and mom, God does see the good in me, but it is not within my achievements. It is within my love for Him and my eagerness to get out and do his work among many nations. But God also sees the bad in me. He sees the self doubt, the fear, the sin. Yet He loves me so deeply and so unconditionally that words cannot even begin to encompass His love. Even the unconditional and unending love of my parents cannot compare because it is worldly. In fact, all of the love I have experienced thus far in my life is worldly, with one exception: God’s love. This love is what I am beginning to make the sole focus of my life because once you truly center your life on God’s love, everything in life becomes so much more fulfilling.
