God's Measure of Love
Wednesday, February 26, 2014 Posted by Unknown
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“Are you crazy?’ The father, whose son lay in I.C.U. with a gunshot to his 15-year-old body, shouted over the phone. “You want me to love my enemy?” As if that were even possible, he thought before shoving his phone back into his jacket pocket.
Thirty minutes later,
this same man, pastor of a local church, wet the sheets of his only child’s bed
with tears in hope of understanding.
“Jay,” he heard the Father’s
voice well up within his heart. “Who does your son love—the most?”
“Why,
You, Lord. Ever since he was a toddler.”
“When,
and I’m not saying now, but when, he passes from this life to the next, where
will he be?”
“With
You, Papa, with You.” Pastor Jay slid to the floor next to his son’s bed.
“Why
do you preach?” Papa asked.
“What
do you mean, God? You know why. To spread the good news.”
“Who do you preach to?”
“The
lost.” His own answer pierced his heart.
The
loud wail that came next from room 201 brought the night nurse to the door. She
paused when she saw the pastor in a fetal position. She glanced past him to the
monitors of his son and noticed
his vitals signs were normal for the first time since he was admitted. She crept away from the intimate scene in silent
prayer.
When
the teen’s father rose from the floor, he knew what he must do next. His hands
shook as he dialed the number. He steadied himself in the worn leather chair
and waited for an answer.
“Mrs.
Wells,” Pastor Jay began. “Can I talk to your son?”
Detecting her hesitation,
he quickly added, “I want to tell him how much his heavenly father loves him. And,”
Jay swallowed hard, “that I forgive him.”
“And,”
now his voice almost squeaked, “I love him and want to visit him when ...”
Before
he could finish, he heard her crying. “Oh, thank you. Thank you. You don’t
know what this means.”
Even
though the connection went dead, the peace of 1John 4:19, “We love because He
first loved us,” filled both their rooms.
(Certainly not a funny measurement, but a
divinely one of God’s perfect love for each and everyone of us.)
