God's Loving Arms

God is our father. The Bible says that we may come boldly to the Throne of Grace (the presence of God). I see in my mind's eye myself laying prostrate before God as He sits on His throne. He, who is my Abba Father, then beckons me to come to Him. So, knowing my state as a man who has failed so much I slowly make my way up to the One Who has never sinned. I stand before Him as a child who has been caught doing something wrong (He sees all that I do, all my sins He knows). He then lifts up my head with His hand and gazes into my eyes with His. His eyes that saw the creation. Those pure eyes that look right into your soul. He says to me, "I know what you have done My child, all the times you have fallen and given in to the world, flesh, and devil, I was right there waiting for you to ask for My help. Do not fear, My child, you have been paid for! I gave My life for you. I LOVE YOU!" When He says those three words it cuts into my heart and I fall to the floor bawling like a child. I know my actions over the years have hurt my Savior. I know that these sins have also hurt those around me.

As I lay there I hear the voice of my Father speaking to me. "My child, I paid the price on the cross, I can make you whole. I am making you new every day. Come up here, onto my lap". I look up to my Abba with tear blurred vision and slowly raise my body that is weak from emotion and I struggle to climb on to the lap of my Savior and I feel His strong arms help me to His lap. He then tells me to rest in Him. I lay my head on His chest and I hear His heart beat. With every beat of His heart its as if I hear Him telling me, "I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you." And I sigh. The weight of my sins, the hurt in my life, all the pain from life fall away from me as I hear over and over, "I love you, I love you, I love you." As I lay against the chest of my Father I look down to the hands that are holding me against Him and I see the nail scars. Those scars tell me, "I love you, I went through the greatest pain in the world so that I may hold you and heal you and give you a life of freedom." I then look up and see the scars on my Savior's head where the crown of thorns had pieced His skin. He tells me that He bore that crown of thorns for me. Overwhelmed with this love of my Father I hug Him and as I do I feel the many scars on His back and start weeping. In my mind I see Him before the Romans, shuddering as He takes the blows from their whips. I see the blood flowing from His back and yet as He looks up from the whipping block He has no anger or remorse, only Love.

I hear Him whisper into my ear, "I took each of those blows for you my beloved child." I then say, "I am so unworthy of Your love, so many times I have sinned against You willfully, how can you still love me even when I mess up over and over and over"-Here He breaks in with a strong voice and says, "Hush! You want to know why I love you so? Its because you are my child. I want to be with you all the time and have an intimate relationship with you. I want to walk with you in the cool of the day like I did with my first child Adam. I long with My all to get that back." As He speaks I hear His voice fill with emotion and tears start spilling from His eyes. He continues, "Sometimes I am so overcome with love for my creation I just cant contain it. My love for mankind was shown when I died on the cross so that they may be with me forever. You have no idea the joy I get when a person decides that they want me to be part of their life and start a relationship with me. When that happens I begin spending all my time with them. I am always with them, I will never leave! I cry when they cry. When they fall I stand there eager to help them up when they ask. My child, there is nothing greater than my Love."

My Father then stops and looks intently at my eyes. "You know My love, My love is in you. Would you please tell people about My love and how I showed it on the cross?" Normally I would have turned in shame and said that I was unworthy to tell other's about His love, however, since my sins had been washed away by His blood and because I knew His spirit was in me and making me new everyday, with Isaiah I say, "HERE I AM LORD, SEND ME!" (Isaiah 6).