A Father’s Love

I was at the pool at Give Kids the World, watching and passing out towels.

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A dad with his 2-year-old daughter was walking out of the pool through the shallow end. The girl was probably waist-deep in water at the time. She lost her footing and had fallen backwards. The father turned around immediately and ran as fast as he could to pick her up out of the water. He put her in his arms and walked her the rest of the way out of the water and soothed her while she cried.

What if the father had responded differently? What if he had turned around saw his daughter practically drowning and said, “I’m going to let her suffer for a bit, she needs to learn how to keep her footing in this pool.” How ridiculous would that be? It’s so horrid to think about. I didn’t even consider the option of him not going to get her. Why? Because of his love for her.

Questioning why the dad saved his daughter would be so silly.  But we question it all the time.  We question God’s love for us. When that girl fell in the water, she couldn’t see what I could. I could see her dad running to save her, the intensity in his eyes. Nothing was going to stop him from saving her. But those few seconds felt like an eternity for her, because she was submerged in the water. She couldn’t see him running towards her. 

It made me think about how a lot of the times our sin and our grief blind us to the reality that God is that father at the pool. He isn’t distantly watching as we suffer, or keeping a tally on how many times we screw up.

You know, I’m positive there were times when that little girl disappointed her father. However, that fact did not affect his desire to save his daughter from the water when she slipped. He did not hold any of that against her.

If an earthly father expresses that much forgiveness and love, how much more does our Father express his love and forgiveness to his children? My favorite verse of all time is Lamentations 3:22-23 and it applies so well: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (NIV)

It doesn’t say: “Because you went on a mission trip …,” “Because you read your Bible today…”  or “Because you prayed out loud before dinner.”  It says because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed. Because of who God is—love—we are not consumed. We are not left to drown. Rest in his arms, because God loves you.

Marlie Austin, a student at Howard Payne University, is serving with Go Now Missions in Orlando, Fla., as part as the Give Kids the World team.


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