 |
 |
|
|
7/30/2010
A Dad’s Love
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” 1 John 3:1.
When I was in high school, my dad and I had an ongoing prank. We both had to get up early, and were often quite tired. So, we would do things to test each other’s tiredness. After one person had poured a bowl of cereal, and left it to go to the refrigerator for milk, for instance, the other one would hide the cereal bowl and see how long the cereal-pourer would look for the bowl before he or she realized it had been moved. Or a packed lunch suddenly went missing. Car keys that had been found became displaced again. You get the idea. One night, while I was on a break from college, several years after the official game had ended, I noticed that my dad had set out his pills for the morning on the kitchen counter before he went to bed. I decided to bring back the game. I hid the pills and replaced them with a note: “Love you dad. Look by the phone.” I then went downstairs to check my email before going to bed. When I walked in my room 10 minutes later, I could not believe my eyes. There, where my mattress should have been, laid a note: “Love you too. Look in the furnace room.” He had managed to sneak by me, and move the mattress by himself without me knowing!
Growing up, I thought my dad could do anything. I’m still not entirely convinced that he can’t. I have always been proud to tell stories about my dad, and am thrilled to be known as his daughter.
And yet, for all my dad can do, and for all he has done for me, his actions pale in comparison to what my Heavenly Father has done for me. It may have been my dad who made me feel protected and safe during a storm, but it was my Heavenly Father who created the storm and actually protected me. It may have been my dad who showed me love when it was undeserved, but it was my Heavenly Father who gave him the patience to do so. And despite the nagging inkling I have that I’m probably my dad’s favorite child, he has never given up the life of either of my brothers – his sons – for mine. My Heavenly Father has. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10.
In Christ,
Elise Knobloch
Want to receive daily devotions via email? Click here to sign up!
© 2010 Abiding Savior Free Lutheran Church
|
|
|
 |
 |
