I‘m not sure when I figured out that my Dad loved me unconditionally but it was early in my life. He took me on some of my first walks, often telling me how I would reach my hand up to him, especially when we came to a street, and say “hand-a-me.”
Dad was big and strong. He could look very serious quickly but I mostly remember his wonderful smile—he could wrinkle and move his forehead as he laughed. He liked baseball—was marvelously coordinated and could easily swing a bat or throw a ball. I learned to love baseball in part because it pleased Dad.
At some point in my life, Dad told me he “would love me no matter what” I did. It took me a while to process his statement because his love didn’t seem at all dependent on what I did or didn’t do.
Then one day it hit me, if my Dad would love me no matter what, then I am free to ask him for anything I wanted and I could do anything in his presence-good or bad-and he would still love me. What a deal!
So at my first response to my father’s unconditional love was to take advantage of it, selfishly rooted in my “me first” sin nature, which changed when I yielded to the Lord’s call and became His child.
The Holy Spirit within began prompting me to consider ways to respond to my father’s love. I already knew some things that made him happy, such as getting all “superiors” on my report card. Or announcing at the supper table that I’d gone three-for-four and hit a long triple with two men on base in a ballgame!
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