The Father’s Embrace

Have you ever been greeted by someone whose face lights up when they see you and who flings their arms open wide as you approach them … so there’s absolutely no doubt in your mind that that person is really pleased to see you? There’s that lovely, warm feeling deep inside … and a knowing that you’re loved (even if you can only hold on to it for that moment). It could be a friend or a family member or someone at Church. Some people just know how to make us feel welcomed and loved.

I belong to an Anglican church and every week, as part of the liturgy, we say, ‘You embraced us as your children and welcomed us to sit and eat with You’. What a privilege! What a joy - to be embraced by our Heavenly Father as His precious children, to be welcomed to sit and eat with Him who loves us with a love that’s so great it's beyond our capacity to understand. It’s not difficult to dwell on these words and appreciate their meaning while taking part in a communion service at Church, but the challenge is when we’re not there, and busy and caught up in the everyday issues of life. It can be much harder then to remember and truly value our Heavenly Father’s loving embrace that’s always right there for us. As children rushing into the arms of a loving parent, He longs for us to run to Him to receive and really know His love - every single day.

I’ve learnt that setting aside time to just be with Him each day isn’t just something that’s nice to do or that we should do … it’s what we need to do, so that we can – not just know about His love in our heads – but really know it in our hearts. It’s what comes through giving time to talking with Him, hearing His voice speaking to us and actively receiving His love. Then our lives can be lived out of that place of inner strength and security that comes from really knowing deep down that we truly are His beloved children.

It’s not a one-way blessing either - it blesses His heart when we spend time with Him. If we rejected a close friend or family member’s embrace or responded with indifference or rushed past them - too busy to stop, they would be hurt. How much more does it pain the heart of our Father God when we ignore Him who made us for that intimate relationship with Himself? So let’s set our wills today to laying aside time to just being with Him, resting in His embrace, hearing His voice and receiving His love deep in our hearts.