I’m a momma’s boy,” I would say. That’s what I thought. I am outspoken and cynical, like my mom. She is not a “touchy-feely” person. She likes to win. If she is not leading, she is rarely involved. I am like her, so I always said I was a momma’s boy with pride.

After a few weeks at college, I knew when I called home that she would be waiting by the phone. I was wrong. She missed me, but my sister said, “Dad is the one going crazy.”

My dad and I were close but we weren’t the kind to show emotion. He never said he missed me. But now he’s gone from being the shortest phone conversationalist ever to an overflowing fountain of words. He wants to know everything that is going on. I used to plan on a conversation with my mom lasting 15 minutes or so, but now my dad and I talk that long.

I mentioned this one day in class to my professor, Greg Hafer, who had raised three sons he dearly loved. He responded by saying my dad’s reaction might be his way of showing he loves me.

I started thinking. Was I really a momma’s boy all that time? I began to think back on how my dad would leave work early to watch my football practices in the heat of August all throughout high school. I thought he was obsessed, but maybe he was showing he loved me. I recalled how I beat him in Madden Football nearly every night, but he kept asking to play. Perhaps it wasn’t about winning, but about being with me. Did he take me fishing because he loved to fish or because it allowed him to spend time with me? All those yards I mowed for him could have been his way of teaching me responsibility.

As I often missed the signs that pointed to my father’s love, sometimes we miss the signs that point to God the Father’s love. We hurry through life oblivious to all the ways he’s shown his love to us.

Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what he has made, so that men are without excuse.” Many attempts have been made to explain the way the universe works and why it is here, but scientists are only finding it to be more and more complicated. Maybe since we cannot fathom the universe, it is pointing us to something greater. Perhaps God is revealing his special concern and love for us. If we could only realize the special attention the Father gave to our cosmos, we might see how he loves us.

Jesus told his disciples that God cares for and values even the smallest things on earth. He said, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Luke 12:6, 7). It took a while for this verse to sink in, but now every time I see a sparrow, I think of my Father’s love for me. If God cares for every sparrow in the world, he certainly cares for me. This is a love I should not miss.

Jesus taught us to ask for things “so that the Son may bring glory to the Father” (John 14:13). God knows our every need before we ask; but he still responds to prayer. Our answered prayers are daily reminders that our loving Father listens to us. It is easy to take for granted the small things we bring to God and he answers, but each answer is for his glory. We act like ungrateful children when we fail to remember what a loving Father we have—a Father who hears our needs and petitions.

Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We were in a lowly state, not deserving of our Father’s love, but he poured himself out for us so that we could become his children. That’s why John exclaims, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1). John realized we might not see right away that we’re God’s children. So he emphasized his point: “And that is what we are!”

The glorious God of the universe chose to show us how much he loved us through a sacrifice when we least deserved it. Our Father’s love deserves to be recognized and appreciated. Don’t miss it. |L

OUTLOOK is a forum for responsible Christian writers. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Standard Publishing or The Lookout.

OTHER COLUMNS:
November 15, 2009 - Bringing Christ to French Guiana
November 1, 2009 - Walking the edge
October 18, 2009 - Watch what you say
October 4, 2009 - Proposing a new proverb
September 20, 2009 - Fear and trembling
September 6, 2009 - Elwyn
August 23, 2009 - Where did the Bible go?
August 9, 2009 - The public school: a local mission field
July 26, 2009 - Astonishing the judges
July 12, 2009 - Letting the past go
June 28, 2009 - Line up
June 14, 2009 - The path to spiritual growth
May 31, 2009 - A tribute to one of my heroes
May 17, 2009 - Silent soldier
April 19, 2009 - Operation Resensitization
April 5, 2009 - The temptations of ministers
March 8, 2009 - Conversation over shoes
February 22, 2009 - By their plurals you shall know them
February 8, 2009 - What is missing from your retirement plans?
January 25, 2009 - Turn the page
December 28, 2008 - Abba, Father
December 14, 2008 - Elementary truths
November 30, 2008 - The illusion
October 19, 2008 - Acting like a toddler
September 21, 2008 - Foolish schemes
September 7, 2008 - God’s hand is everywhere
August 24, 2008 - The dance
August 10, 2008 - Strange land
July 27, 2008 - God’s amazing grace
July 13, 2008 - A best seller
June 29, 2008 - My grandfather’s clock and worship
June 1, 2008 - Reclaiming the name
May 4, 2008 - God is not our fairy godmother
April 6, 2008 - Success: what is it and who can measure up?
March 9, 2008 - Need to know
February 10, 2008 - The top three myths of singleness
January 13, 2008 - By invitation only
December 5, 2007 - Yes, Abbie, there is a Jesus
November 18, 2007 - 10 Ways to be a good Christmas customer
October 21, 2007 - The dividing line
September 23, 2007 - What do you fear?
September 9, 2007 - A life well lived
August 26, 2007 - To murmur, or not to murmur
July 29, 2007 - The cross and the Christian
July 15, 2007 - Turning the other cheek: still a valuable biblical principle
July 1, 2007 - Why the tie?
June 3, 2007 - The death of a son
May 6, 2007 - A prayer for the dying
April 8, 2007 - The omnipresent God
March 11, 2007 - Do the Amish have superheroes?
February 11, 2007 - What’s your black history?
January 14, 2007 - The split branch
December 31, 2006 - The house of regret
December 10, 2006 - The redemption of the innkeeper
November 26, 2006 - Too many choices
November 12, 2006 - Break the bashing habit: Learning to love the unsaved like Christ does: November 12, 2006
October 15, 2006 - Be ‘salt and light’ this Christmas!: October 15, 2006
September 17, 2006 - Who is a legalist?: September 17, 2006 Issue 38
July 23, 2006 - God speaks through our brokenness: July 23, 2006 Issue 38
June 25, 2006 - 'What I am looking for in my church leaders'