"Good, good Father"

I’ve said it before but it’s never been more appropriate for me to mention that the Bible is absolutely correct when it declares that God will father the fatherless.  On my first birthday without my dad, God demonstrated that He really is a “good, good Father” as a popular song puts it.  God was so gracious on my birthday.  He showered me with so many birthday blessings.  It was such a marvelous day – a birthday I will never forget – that I wanted to publish a follow-up birthday blog to thank, praise, and honor my Heavenly Father.

For me to try to describe everything that God did would take up too much of your time.  I could list six or seven birthday blessings right now, but let me just sum it up by saying that God, as a friend once put it, "showed up and showed off."  I could feel the love as my family and friends expressed their love (incidentally, I want to give a public “thank you” to my mom.  She provided me with an amazing surprise birthday gift).  I could feel the love of God as well.

This outpouring of love produced a multitude of reactions in me.  I felt gratitude, amazement, and fellowship.  But there was another inner response as well: unworthiness.  At one point in my day, I was listening to a song by the Christian singer Plumb called “Don’t Deserve You.”  It’s a song where the singer confesses that she doesn’t deserve God’s love.  Some might want to resist such a thought, but I resonate with it.  Don't misunderstand me: I gratefully accept, embrace, and relish God’s love for me.  But I certainly don’t deserve it.

Kevin