John 16:27 (ESV)
For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me
and have believed that I came from God.
“The Father loves you.”
The night before He died, Jesus told His disciples that the
Father loved them. The word “love” here does not denote a dutiful concern or a
self-forgetful, sacrificial devotion. It carries the sense of “demonstrated
affection”—love that’s full of warmth and openly shown. This is so important to
grasp. The Father’s love is not a dutiful or a formal love. No, the sense of
Jesus’ words here is that “The Father loves you deeply, dearly and
demonstrably.” What a great love this is! So many earthly fathers are distant,
either physically or emotionally. This is not so with our Heavenly Father; when
Jesus died and rose again, He ascended to Heaven and from there poured out the
Holy Spirit upon His followers. He filled His disciples so full of the Spirit
of adoption that they began to cry out “Father!” From that moment on, they knew
the Father loved them with a demonstrated affection—with His strong and
comforting arms of love. This is what Jesus wants for us too. Let’s ask Him to
help us to know this in our hearts, not just in our heads. Let’s experience the
Father’s demonstrated affection.
Dear Lord, we ask You to help us to know in our heart that
the Father Himself loves us deeply, dearly and demonstrably. In the Name of
Jesus, Amen.
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