Recently the Lord has positioned on the front of my mind the powerful truth that believers are children of God.  I have been reviewing some scriptures that speak of our adoption and God’s love for us as His children.    God is the world’s gold standard for Fatherhood.   As fallen humans we have often failed to meet God’s standard of Fatherhood.  Yet if you have children you will know that there is a quality of love, even in fallen human beings, for their children that defies description.

When our first child was born, he was premature and was required to stay in the hospital for about a month.   It was a very special day when we went to pick him up.   In the waiting room outside the preemie nursery, while my wife was getting ready to receive him, suddenly the doctor arrived and passed over this bundle of blankets and joy.   As he carefully positioned our child into my arms my first emotion was fear.  I had not held such a small and precious person in all my life.

Then it happened.  My heart was flooded with love.  I was completely unprepared for this fragment of our Father’s love.  My mind was flooded and overwhelmed with love for this child, who had not to this point done anything either good or bad.  I did not love him for what He had done or not done; the fact that he was my son was the only and completely adequate foundation for my love.

 We are uniquely created to love and to be loved.  We have this DNA.  Oh, our love is not nearly in the same league as that of our Father’s, but we are designed in His likeness.   It is through these human loving experiences that we can get a tiny taste of the love that our heavenly Father has for us.  In First John the apostle speaks to us about the Father’s love:

“SEE WHAT [an incredible] quality of love the Father has given (shown, bestowed on) us, that we should [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are! The reason that the world does not know (recognize, acknowledge) us is that it does not know (recognize, acknowledge) Him.” -  1 John 3:1 (AMP)

Growing up, my mother loved me virtually unconditionally; regardless of what I did her love seemed to be based only on the fact that I was her son.   My father, it seemed loved me primarily, for how I performed related to his expectations.  Most of us as we grow older experience this performance based sense of acceptance and love from much of the world.   This is the plan of the prince of this world. .   Our enemy desires that we, as believers, become blind to the incredible quality of love our Father has for us and encourages us to focus on our performance as the means to become acceptable and loveable  in our own sight and in the sight of others.

On the other hand God desires that we know and believe and receive His love for us.

 And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him.  - 1 John 4:16 (AMP)

Think back to the time when you first began to spend time with your mate or your very best friend.  Do you remember how indescribably pleasant and desirable it was to walk and talk and spend time together?    In a similar way God longs to spend time, to walk and talk with His children.

The extent of our understanding of and belief in God’s love for us will without doubt impact our propensity to spend time walking and talking to God.   This may be related to the idea of praying without ceasing.   It is clear that the loving activity from God toward us is not broken or in disrepair.   If there is any breach in our receiving God’s love, it is without doubt on our side.

Since God is the manufacture of love and we are the distributors of it, we must receive love from Him before we can give it out.  We are commanded to give it out, first back to God and then to our neighbors.   As distributors, we cannot ship out of an empty warehouse.  We must have a large receiving dock that is open long hours if we are going to be able to fulfill every order to love that God is giving us.

Our love warehouse is filled up; it seems to me, simply by believing the love God has for us as revealed in His word, then receiving God’s love by believing faith.    Being filled up with the love of God not only provides for our giving this love back to God and to others, but it also provides for our need to be loved and accepted.   When our need for love is filled to overflowing we naturally aspire to obey and serve God out of a pure heart.   As we tithe love back to God, we logically long to serve and glorify Him.  Perhaps it is when we are in this place that we yearn with all of our hearts to pray “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

May we each persistently and passionately pray from pure and love filled hearts for His glory and for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.  This prayer prayed persistently from pure and hopeful hearts will encourage God to send His revival in His time!