The Father's Heart

By Martha Noebel

I would like to take a few moments to share with you about your Father's heart toward you. Yes, I am referring to your Heavenly Father.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16, NIV).

That's a lot of love. God loves us so much. The sins of this world have lead us to places we should not be going, doing things we should not be doing, and encouraging us to say things we should not be saying. But God's love is so great that no matter what the sin, He sent His son to die for us so that we can be forgiven and made whole. Someone had to pay the price; blood had to be given as a sacrifice. God sent Jesus, the only sinless one, to be the payment for our sins. He did this by giving His life as a ransom for our sins.

We have seen great fathers in this world. The story of the father who pushed, pulled, and carried his son through a triathlon is a great example. He swam 2.5 miles, cycled 125 miles through hot lava fields, and concluded by running 26.2 miles with his son. You see, he loved his handicapped son so much. His son's dream was to be in this contest. The father's heart was to meet that need for and with his son. No, they were not in first place or even second place, but they did finish just under the deadline. The father ran the race with the son.

Our Heavenly Father is running the race with us. We are all in a race. If we have asked Jesus, God's Son, into our hearts and to forgive us our sins, then we are pressing on to win the prize.

"I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14).

I also was thinking about the pastor of Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer. Their pastor certainly showed the heart of a father for these two young women as they were held prisoners in Afghanistan. He went overseas to help in any way he could. I think he was there for several weeks praying for them and trying to assist the best way he could. I was touched as I heard that story. He showed a very big heart for these two missionary women.

God's heart is so big for us. His love is so awesome. He wants only what is best for us. Perhaps this Valentine's Day we can think of not only the ones that love us here, but also of the Father in heaven that has a very big heart for us. He cares, wants us to be healed, cleansed from our sins, in right relationship with Him and others around us, and on our way to heaven. He has a wonderful place for us to go.

I pray that you can feel His heart of love for you today -- the heart of a true loving, gentle, and kind Father.