Unconditional Love

I can hardly believe it… Today is our oldest son’s 31^st birthday.  It just seems kind of impossible.  I can still remember taking pictures of his birth, his crying in the middle of the night (along with our brand new puppy.  It was actually pretty funny!) when we brought him home, his playing cops and robbers with the little boy across the street, singing a solo in the church play at the YMCA, Boy Scouts, bass guitar, trumpet, acoustic and electric guitar playing and then there was the two week period where he had to practice the drums daily as he was filling in for a group that needed a drummer, traveling around as the lead singer for the Christian Ska band "Gone Fishing", getting married to Trinity and then becoming a dad with the births of our 2 granddaughters.  Ah… time sure does go by quickly.

Are there things that I would have liked to have done differently in the raising of my kids?  You bet there are.  But I can’t go back, I can only go forward and take the wisdom and understanding that I have learned and apply it in the here and now.  The one thing that I am most proud of is that all of our children love the Lord and are serving Him in various ways.

They, like me, may not always be perfect in the way they live their lives, but they, like you and me, serve a God that abundantly loves us.  His love for us is not based on our merit, but on what Jesus has done for us.  He loves us unconditionally, the same way that He loves His son. 

What a difference to the world system.  Most businesses, organizations, and governments base their pay programs, guidelines, or laws on a merit system.  It is actually a system that is built on fear, the fear of failure, the fear of getting in trouble, or the fear of being ostracized.   Those of us who live within the Kingdom of God, live in a system that is based on love.  God’s ways are driven by love.  His nature is love, and that nature becomes our nature when we become born again.  That foundation of love makes it difficult for one of His family to sin against Him, but if they do, He is there waiting with open arms to receive them back into the fold.  I don’t know of too many organizations in the world who adhere to that same philosophy when mistakes are made.

Take heart today!  You serve a God that is behind you 100% - 100% of the time!  He is always there for you.  He is always ready to forgive, and He is always available to share His day (or night) with you.  Stay tuned and keep asking yourself… “What are you expecting today?”

PS:  Happy Birthday Josh!