My son winds his mother around his little finger. I don’t always agree and often remind her that she shouldn’t deprive our son of a learning opportunity. But soon I see him twisting her arm ever so slightly. 

A mother’s heart can’t do otherwise. If it’s flesh and blood, it’s different. I saw it with my own mother. My brother died three months after my father. She always said that she could handle my dad’s passing, but not the death of her own flesh. 

That’s what makes a mom’s heart different. 

God’s Father’s heart has the same qualities, only even more so. I wonder what internal struggle He endured to sacrifice His own Son, yet save countless souls from eternal destruction through that sacrifice. 

However, God’s Father’s heart loved us sinners so much that He was willing to sent His Son to Earth. His Son, His everything, His beloved flesh and blood. And it was precisely that blood that was spilled to pay the penalty for our sins. 

We’ve heard it so many times. But I wonder if we really realise what Jesus has done for us. The punishment for our transgression is not imprisonment, but death, which still nowadays could be through lethal injection in America or execution by firing squad in China. 

That’s what we qualify for. We can be thankful that Jesus willingly sacrificed His life on the cross for us. Not injected or put in front of a firing squad, but impaled on a cross. 

Jesus is our hero. No, He is more than that. He is our Saviour on the cross. But Jesus’ work and choosing our side does not stop here on earth. He takes being a lifeguard to the next level. 

1… But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus. When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good—not only ours, but the whole world’s.  

Jesus speaks well about us to God. A special bond exists between God and Jesus. It is the Father’s heart that makes God listen to Jesus in a special way. When Jesus asks God for something, God will make it happen that way. 

When Jesus pleads our case, God will grant it. That’s the nature of a Father’s heart. Every time. For everybody. 

No matter what people do, because Jesus paid for all our sins. Jesus represents us all in the heavenly court, ensuring that forgiveness is always available.  

Thank goodness! 

Scripture
1 John 2:1-2 

Reflection
Does God’s Father’s heart move your heart?
And Jesus fighting for you?
Do others also experience your gratitude when things are hard? 

Prayer
Father, how can I thank You that I don’t have to pay the penalty because Jesus stood in my place? May my life on earth be filled with gratitude for this undeserved grace and may everyone in my life share in my gratitude. Amen.