The Father’s Inseparable Love

Posted March 1, 2022 by Theresa Miller

Categories: Featured, Sister Post, Theresa

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.” Romans 8:38, NLT

Desiring Approval

Upon stumbling through the front door after returning home from a quick errand, my then eleven-year-old son walks out of the home office to the left of our entryway, weeping. What could possibly be wrong? This is the kid who tests the limits, questions authority, and announces his privileges rather than requesting them. He’s a good kid with a strong sense of independence. To find him weeping is not typical. 

“What is it?” the worry evident in my voice. He directs me back into the office where we keep the home cell phone and reveals the shattered screen. Through sobs he confides he intended to text me when the phone slipped from his hands to the floor. His sobs settle into a whimper as he confesses the heart of his anguish. He’s afraid his dad will be mad at him. His authoritative, yet relatable, loving father? Yes, he might be a little frustrated, but not lasting. My heart melts over the anguish of his misgiving. But even more so, over how deeply he desires his father’s approval. Wrapping my arms around his frame, I assure him it will be okay.

“Son, even if your dad is mad, you know he is good; he is fair; and he loves you. That is his character, so you don’t have to be afraid.”

That evening, I linger on the phone with his dad, who is out of town overnight for work, when my son approaches and asks me if he can speak to him. I hand him the phone, give him some privacy, and overhear him explain the incident to his dad, adding that he will work to pay for a new screen. 

Soon after, he returns the phone with a hint of a smile and says, “Dad said it would be okay.” then walks away seemingly lighter, free of anguish, and held secure by his father’s love. This ordeal, from beginning to end, touches my heart, like the Lord demonstrating His character to me through it. 

How many times had I avoided God, determined He was disappointed in me? How many times had I felt His favor was for everyone else, yet somehow disapproving of me? How many times had I believed He had thrown His hands up, announcing, “You had your chance, now you’re worth 10% of my love!” Oh, I haven’t thought these exact thoughts because I know better. Yet how we live tells the true story about what we believe. 

God’s Character

Although my son felt worried initially, I’m thankful he was determined to confess his costly mistake to his father. And I’m thankful for the outcome. An outcome that too often looks different in our world of brokenness. Yet one thing I know is true, we can always go to our Heavenly Father with our fears and mistakes, and He will love us tenderly, fiercely, and unconditionally. Nothing can ever separate us from His love.

Do you feel God is disappointed in you? Maybe you have good intentions that continue to go awry. Maybe you feel God can’t possibly love you enough to never throw up his hands, never give up on you, and never let you go. Perhaps you feel you must earn your way back into God’s good graces somehow. 

Friend, our Heavenly Father may very well be the Almighty Judge, but like I reminded my son, He is good; He is fair; and He loves us to no end—that is His character, so we don’t have to be afraid to confide in Him. 

It’s true, we will face the consequences of our actions. The screen of our family cell phone is no longer usable, even though we forgave our son before the phone ever hit the floor and shattered into a thousand shards. 

Maybe your own mistakes have caused you costly consequences far worse than a shattered screen. Perhaps your mistakes have cost you shattered relationships. How can mistakes with such costly consequences be forgivable? 

God’s Inseparable Love

Yet when we turn our hearts to God, as our Father, He assures us it will be okay. He trades beauty for ashes, joyful blessing for mourning, and praise for despair (Isaiah 61:3) The truth is, God cares more about tending our hearts than tallying our mistakes.

Even as we endure the natural consequences of this broken and beaten down world, costing us more than we can afford by earthly standards, we will never need to earn our Father’s love. He holds our tender hearts secure, assuring us that His Son, Jesus, already paid the unaffordable price for His extravagant love so we can walk freely in Him. 

Sometimes it takes the shattered shards of our life to realize how much we really do need our Heavenly Father more than our independence from Him and to realize how much He really does love us despite our mistakes.

Will you turn to Christ and receive God’s inseparable love for you today?