The Father We Find in the Reckless Love of God

So for the next two weeks I’m basing the blog on the lyrics of the popular worship song, “Reckless Love” by Cory Asbury which we sang in church last weekend. They are always powerful and seem to come at the right time, but this time was just even more so. 

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeahWhen I was Your foe, still Your love fought for me
You have been so, so good to me
When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me
You have been so, so kind to me

As we sang it, I was remembering back to a year ago when I was in California for a Women in Ministry conference with my good friend Eliza. We sang it multiple times at the event and played it every time we got in the car. It was pretty much our theme song. Then I thought about it again. I realized that event was like the moment the Lord planted this seed of the baby I’m carrying, and I received it. I didn’t know it then. But looking back, I could see He was ready to do what He had promised. What took so many years for me to even believe I could be a good mom before we even started trying, had brought me to this moment where I believed and received that the Lord loved me that much, to give me a child. 

What was even crazier is he literally 10 years before had rescued me. He chased me down when I thought He could never forgive me. He left the 99 for me. His love is truly reckless, overwhelming and never-ending because now we will get to shower His love into the life of this child. What a miracle-working God. 

So I just want you to know something. If you feel lost or forgotten or not good enough or you’ve done too much, you are exactly the person the Lord is looking for. You are the one he will leave behind the 99 to rescue. So don’t believe the lie that he won’t. When we’re lost, and we’re wondering where God is, that’s right where he is. 

This song is about the Parable of the Lost Sheep
in Matthew 18:12-14 NLT: 12 
“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! 14 In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.”

He is our shepherd. We are His sheep. What does that scripture say? He will leave the pack for one of us and then celebrate our return, just like the Prodigal son. His father threw him a party when he returned. Run to Jesus. He wants to celebrate you and give you the life you never imagined.
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I have this image from when I was a kid. It’s of my father coming up from the train tracks at 30th street station in Philadelphia to get me and take me back on the train to go to Washington D.C. for the weekend. Yes he had a whole new life in D.C., but he left all that on a regular basis to come get me. It didn’t matter what I’d done, he never stopped loving me. Do we all have Fathers like that? No. But we all do have a Father in heaven who can fill every gaping hole in our hearts that our fathers left open. It’s not up to our fathers to be perfect. It’s up to us to realize that our Heavenly Father is the one who is supposed to fill in the gaps. 

Psalm 68:5 tells us He is father to the fatherless.

When my father died and I mourned not only his loss but his departure when I was a kid, I clung to this verse. The Lord became my father the moment my Dad left this earth. I knew that my Dad would be with me in spirit, but it was time for me to fully rely on God the father, not out of duty but sheer response to his overwhelming love. 

This past Monday, the 18th, would have been his 71st birthday. Birthdays are always weird, because some years you’re okay. Other years you are a mess.  I think this year was extra weepy for me  because of all the pregnancy hormones surging through me and wishing he was around. But I know he is, and will be when the baby arrives. 

I remember shortly after my Dad died, my husband and I were at the Notre Dame Basilica. It was the Christmas Eve service and I saw a grandfather with his infant grandchild. I lost it. Broke down in tears. How could I ever have a child without my Dad here? But guess what, I am and I don’t have that fear anymore because I know God the father is with me and I know my Dad is with me.

You know how? There are always signs. But this week was a funny one. We’re on our way to the doctor for an ultrasound where we’re going to find out the sex of the baby. Yes. I’ll tell you next week. 🙂 I get in the car and there’s my sign that Dad is right there in the passenger seat. “She drives me crazy, like no one else, she drives my crazy and I can’t help myself,” by Fine Young Cannibals. This is the song my Dad used to blare in the car or in the house so whenever I hear it, especially in the car, I’m literally like, “Oh, hey Dad!” That was my sign that Dad was walking in with us. 

So I want you to know, whether you’ve got your Dad here or you don’t. Maybe your Dad is driving you nuts or you are distant. Know that he is human and that you can look to God the Father to be the one you need. He loves you with a reckless love. He chases after you and will never give up on you.  You don’t have to keep him at a distance. Let Him in. Tell Him your struggles with your father figure on earth and open up that line of communication.
 
And just in case you need to listen to it, here’s “Reckless Love”.