“I love you more.”
“No, I love you more.”
“No, I don’t think so, I love YOU more!”
And on and on.
So goes a frequent argument between my children and me. It’s our way of reaffirming our love for each other. They think they have won whenever I let them say it last. But I know the truth- a parent’s love is far greater than a child’s love capacity.
If you are a parent you already know the drill: the late night feedings, the beyond believable diapers, the “2 year old” hardships, the romance struggles, even the career choices. Through out it all you pour unending love in their direction; in spite of what they cost you, you love them no matter how many times you must forgive them, and you love them when nobody else seems to value them.
A wise woman once told me in my pre-parent days, “You know, you can never really fathom the love that the Heavenly Father has for us until you become a parent yourself.” Children often think that they love their parents in an equal fashion, but you never can love upwards to the degree that a parent loves downwards. This is a microcosm of how God out loves His children. He loves us so unconditionally and so generously. None of us have ever sent a son to die for others’ sins. None of us forgive so willingly. None of us can reward our children in the ways that He constantly does.
Even in those days before I was a mom, I found tremendous comfort at her words. I had arrogantly thought I was doing a great job at loving God. With this woman’s words, I began to realize that I would spend my life loving loving Him, but I would never be able to equal His eternal love. I was beginning to see how very falliable my human love could be. As much as I love my husband, I still get irritated with him at times. My love can get weary. God’s love never fails us, unlike our finite love.
It is so very wonderful to be out loved by God. He loves me, He loves me, He loves me. “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with the saints, to grasp how wide and how long and how high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19).
Abba- Father, how much I delight in knowing that you love me so much more than I could possibly love you back. Thank You for Your constant outpouring upon me. Thank You for loving me so much, even when my reciprocated love pales in comparison to Yours. Help me to spend my life grasping just how wide, long, high and deep Your love truely is. Your child- L