Ephesians 3:16-18 (NASB) that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all
the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God.
(From: “Father, You Sure Raised One Fine Son!” by Judee Parker)
Over a period of many years God reached out to me through various circumstances, people and life lessons; but the most unlikely situation of all led me to reach out back to Him. It happened when two women from a local cult came to my door to share what they believed. I was ashamed of my lifestyle,
and it was hard to listen to them. However, when they called my newborn daughter, who had been born out of wedlock a sinner; I got angry and threw them out of my home.
Their words left me extremely shaken. The misinformation they shared convinced me that I was beyond any hope of ever seeing heaven; but filled me with a deep conviction that I should do everything in my power to see that my children walked with God before it was too late for them. It’s rather difficult
though to teach your children about God when you really know nothing about Him. It is also difficult to sit in a church faithfully and listen when you are convinced that you have no right to be there and are doomed to be the one person among the crowd who will be damned eternally.
Eventually I started taking my children to church, but fortunately not the “church” the women attended. I learned that we were all born with a sin nature (okay, so the women were sort of correct about somethings). I learned that Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, alone had lived a sin free life. I
was assured that entry to heaven was not based on what we had done. I was told repeatedly of God’s great love and of how He had given His Son Jesus on the cross to pay for our sins (as I had been told years earlier). I was also assured that Jesus rose from the dead and was just fine. The message was very slowly
beginning to infiltrate my doubtful thinking and plant tiny seeds of hope.
These Christians claimed all we had to do was believe. I had increasingly seen evidence that the Bible was truth. Never-the-less, I still felt that I had been evil enough to be beyond forgiveness. For quite some time I heard those truths and wrestled with conflicting thoughts and emotions. My pastor would pray to
Father God in such a trustful manner. I ached to be that perfect Father’s child, but I knew who I was and what I had done.
I could not imagine how a holy God could possibly love me, but I desperately longed for His love. In fact, in time I think I yearned for His love even more than His heaven. Kneeling by the tree sometime during the 1979 Christmas season, I cried out to God in both fear and desperation. I did not know what
to say. I only knew that I wanted God as my Father but did not deserve one ounce of love from Him. I felt as though He would strike me with lightning for daring to come before Him, but I did it anyway. I had determined He was worth loving even if I wasn’t…and there was that deep, deep hunger for His love. My
faith that He would accept me was ever so weak. One thing I did understand clearly was that acceptance was based on His grace, not on me. I whispered, “Father”. More words would not come. Finally, I took a deep breath and continued. “Father, You sure raised One Fine Son!” That is all I remember of our first conversation. An awareness of His overwhelming love alone stands out in my mind when I think back on that day.
How could God accept a person with a faith as weak as mine? Because the moment the words passed from my heart, God gave me a faith that soared to new heights. There was no lightning…just a deep experience of the presence and love of God. Though my faith was weak, God’s love was strong; like the
strong hug my heart experienced that day and many times since.
How could God stand to have a dilapidated daughter like me? It’s simple and amazing. Once I turned to Him, He changed me into a new creation. God no longer had a dilapidated person to deal with; just the new me to mold into someone He would gladly relate to; sometimes with a smile, sometimes with a
frown; but always with His love.
Have you never treasured Him? It is my hope that you will be rooted and grounded in the love of God, grow in Him, and live your life in a manner that you and God will enjoy together. He doesn’t need you, but He longs for your love much more than you long for His. Are you one who has drifted in your affection towards Him? He wants you to return to His love as well. The very fact that He Loves us is astounding beyond measure!