The father had been diagnosed with colon cancer approximately a year earlier and after surgery had gone through two months of chemotherapy and was thought to be cancer free. Ten months later he began having breathing problems and was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis.
The irony of this, the doctors thought that his breathing problems, pulmonary fibrosis was most likely call by the chemotherapy they had saved his life. Within a very short period of time his condition was diagnosed as being fatal and he was given only 5 to 6 days to live.
With everything they had been through this news from the doctor was very hard to handle. He told his wife that he only had one wish and that was to be able to see his unborn child, a baby girl.
The mom-to-be talked this over with the doctors and ask them if they would induce labor so that she could give birth early and her dying husband would be able to see the newborn child. The doctors agreed.
The husband and wife were placed in the same room in beds side-by-side so that the husband could witness his wife’s delivery and be a part of his baby’s birth. As soon as the baby girl was delivered she was placed in the father’s arms. He wept as he held this new life in his hands and held her for as long as he could. What a special blessing this must have been to him.
Because he was growing weaker by the day he was able to hold the baby only two more times over the next two days. When the tiny baby was only two days old, the father slipped peacefully into a coma and died two days later.
This beautiful story of a father’s love for his child reminds us of the love that God has for his children especially a child who has left home and has wandered away from the truth.
In the book of Luke 15: 11-32 we read about a father who loves his son. A father who was willing to let him make some poor choices in the hopes that he would one day come to his senses and return home.
As you read the story you can’t help but wonder how many days the father went to the window of his home with a broken heart and looked down the road that his son took when he left home. He went often I am sure, hoping and praying that he would see his son in the distance coming home.
He May have often thought, maybe today will be the day when I see my son again, when I can hold him in my arms and tell him how much I love him and have missed him. He never grew weary, he never gave up, and year in and year out he continued to look for the return of the prodigal son.
And then one day his faithfulness was rewarded. He looked up and there on the horizon he saw his son making his way home. He could have waited but when he saw his son in the distance his love compelled him to go and meet his son, to embrace him, to put a robe on him, sandals on his feet and a ring on his finger and walk with him as he made his journey home. (Luke 15:11-32) - David Perkins
Most would agree that there is a lot of talk about love in our day, but not a whole lot of demonstration of love. Less talk and more action would create a wave of change in our land when it comes to love. Perhaps one of our biggest problems is that our understanding of what true love is does not concur with God's Word.
The call to Christian love is within the context of abiding in Christ as His disciple. It is only as you are living in dependence, trust, and obedience to Jesus Christ as the living Vine, that you can be a vessel through which He might display His love. And in essence, that's what Christian love really is. Such love does not originate in us, but in Him who regenerates us and gives us life.
You and I are called to love as Christ loves us. Can we be passive about the demands and disciplines of the Christian life, yet still practice such love? That is an impossibility! The call to love is at the same time a call to take seriously the demands of the gospel. As John put it, "Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and in truth" (I John 3:18).
The Apostle Paul's pray on behalf of the Thessalonians is my prayer for all of you today, "May the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all men, just as we also do for you" (I Thessalonians 3:12).
Scripture references: Mark 12:31; Luke 6:31; Luke 6:35; John 8:13; John 8:34; Romans 12:9; Romans 13:10; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8; 1 Corinthians 13:13; Ephesians 4:2
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank you for the promise that you would give us the Holy Spirit to abide with us; the Spirit of truth able to bring us comfort and hope everyday of our lives. I ask that in this day I be very aware of the Holy Spirit and of Your desire to help me. You see every situation that we are facing. You see the days of frustration and even desperation – days when we are stretched very thinly. Lord, in those times I pray that you would help us! I invite the Holy Spirit into all the challenges that are facing us. Amen
May God bless you!
Kristine
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