4. PARENTAL AFFECTION . . . .

DO YOU KNOW HOW ATTRACTIVE YOU ARE TO GOD? One of the biggest hinderances to our walk with Him is a sense that our flesh is repulsive to Him because of sin. When my small son is covered with mud from the yard, I pick him up and clean him off with the garden hose. I reject the mud... NOT THE BOY. Yes, you have sinned. Yes, you have broken God's heart. But you are still the center of God's affections... the apple of His eye. It is He who pursues us... with a forgiving heart. We say, "I found the Lord..." but the truth is... He found us.

MANY CHILDREN, PARTICULARLY BOYS... have had no physical display of affection from their fathers... or no real compassion when they are hurt, because of our false concept of masculinity. We are told, "Don't cry son, boys don't cry." JESUS is not like that. His compassion and understanding are measureless. He feels our hurts more deeply than we do because His sensitivity to suffering is so much greater.

A SCREAMING TWO-YEAR-OLD HAD TO BE HELD, while the doctor stitched a large gash in his forehead. He quickly forgot his painful experience and fell asleep in his father's arms. The father was tormented by the experience and grieved for hours. You have forgotten most of your pains, but God has not. He has perfect recall of every moment of your life. Your tears are still mingled with His at this very moment.

GOD WAS THERE WHEN YOU EXPERIENCED cruel teasing in the school yard and you walked alone avoiding the eyes of others. When you sat in a math class confused and dejected... He was with you. At the age of four when you got lost at the country fair and wandered through the huge crowd... it was God who turned the heart of that kind lady who helped you find your mother.

"I LED THEM WITH CORDS OF HUMAN KINDNESS, WITH TIES OF LOVE" (Hosea 11:4).

SOMETIMES WE DON'T UNDERSTAND what a fussy, doting Father, God is. Your parents may proudly display bronzed baby booties on the mantle, pictures in an album or trophies on the wall... but how does that compare with God's infinite capacity to be overjoyed with your every success? It was actually God who heard you speak your first real word. The hours you spent alone exploring new textures with baby hands were a delight to your Heavenly Father. Some of His greatest treasures are the memories of your childhood laughter. There has never been another child like you... and there never will be.

"YOU SHALL DWELL BETWEEN THE SHOULDERS OF GOD" (Deuteronomy 33:12).

WHAT A FANTASTIC BLESSING! But that is where YOU dwell also. Whatever you become in the eyes of men... even a person of great authority... fame... or title... you will never cease to be more or less than a babe in the arms of God.