A Perfect Father

Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.

Mark 8:35

When our children have a birthday, we forget about the tantrum they threw last week in the middle of the grocery store, put out of our mind the memory of the kitchen floor completely covered in apple juice, and resolve to think about something other than the countless times we’ve heard “No” and “Mine!” from their mouths. Somehow, all of that fades away, and we celebrate our children with a cake, gifts, and a party because we love them.

We are the children of a perfect Father, and despite our many shortcomings, He loves us and gives us good things (Matthew 7:11). Why then do we often fail to give something back to Him? Why is it such a struggle to give ourselves to Him when He lovingly and sacrificially gave us the ultimate gift of His Son?

If we truly love our heavenly Father, then let’s begin demonstrating that love by offering our very lives as a living sacrifice, not withholding anything. After all, it was Christ Himself who set the example when He gave up His life that we might live.

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.

JIM ELLIOT