A Father's Heart

Have you had a chance to watch ABC's new show Find My Family? It is a show that helps connect people who have been given up for adoption. Last night, my husband and I watched Evan reunite with his son (the full episode is available online episode 104). This particular episode was about a father finding his son after searching for him for 31 years. Evan, the father had gotten his girlfriend pregnant in high school. Her family moved away. He had been there at the birth and was under the impression she was keeping their son. When he contacted her later he found out she had given him up for adoption. So for the last 31 years he had been searching for his son that he never intended to lose.

There were several remarkable moments in the show. One moment was when the son found out through the show that someone was looking for him and he had assumed that his birth mother was searching for him. He was quite surprised to find out it was his father. The show host even commented, "It is not often that it is a father searching for his son." Another beautiful moment was the son's emotions when he met his father. He commented how wonderful it was to be loved just for being him and not based on anything he had done.

Of course, I could not watch the show without tears or without thinking of our Heavenly Father. People often say God does not need anything or want anything. That may be true but somewhere along the line he chose to desire us:

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,

that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

And the emotion shown by the father last night reflects two of the deep desires described by Jesus in the parable of the Prodigal Son and the Lost Sheep:

Luke 15:20

But while he was still a long way off,

his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him;

he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

Luke 15:4-7

Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.

Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep

until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders

and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says,

'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there

will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over

ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

God has been described as the hound of heaven. Last night's story gave a modern day visual picture of the heart of the Father searching for his son and not settling until he was found.

Finally, do you remember the son's comment about being loved for who he was and not what he did?

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

If you don't understand the Father's heart towards you or the depth of His love for you take time to watch this episode. You have a Father who has searched high and low to make you His own, not because of what you have done but because of who He is. May you rest in your Father's love today.

Just a reminder to check out Get Healthy for Hope. Here is a video showing the condition kids can be in after open heart surgery. The Playroom would provide a place for their siblings to play while the parents are with the sick child.