Gal 4:6-7 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. (ESV)
Our girls have trained our two-year old, (he’s actually 3 now) Samuel to properly greet Daddy upon his arrival home. They run to the door or sometimes outside to meet him with open arms.
Samuel has learned to greet Daddy this way too.
The fun begins when Samuel sees Daddy’s work truck pull up in the drive way. Samuel expresses his elation with a fan fare of accolades encompassed all in this one… little… phrase…
Wait for it……
(I pray this won’t offend anyone, but this is truly what he says)
“Daddy Sucks!” (Translation: “Daddy’s TRUCK.” So, yeah-it could be worse!)
Samuel bubbles over screaming these two little words!
“Daddy Sucks! DADDY SUUUCKS!!”
Samuel offers these words so emphatically and affectionately to his Daddy, yet he has no concept of the derogatory nature of the phrase. Samuel is simply expressing his excitement and adoration for Daddy the best he knows how to. And the result is our sweet Samuel running straight into Jimmy’s arms all the while yelling “Daddy SUCKS!”
My husband, Jimmy laughs. (As do I, yes siree! It NEVER gets old.)
Jimmy knows that Samuel does not intend to degrade him. Our little guy is only doing the very best he can with his two-year-old ability to communicate his love for his Daddy.
And Jimmy tries to teach Samuel the right way to say it, but he still accepts Samuel’s “broken” praise none-the-less.
Why?
Daddy loves his little boy. Jimmy knows Samuel just doesn’t understand.
He accepts Samuel and his praise not because it is perfect or even good, but because Samuel is his SON.
What. A. Thought.
I don’t know about you, but when I pondered that over, I was really encouraged.
The following passage comes to mind:
Gal 4:6-7 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
At times, I may look as though I am exclaiming the ‘choice phrase’ that Samuel uses as I talk to God. Nevertheless, I know my Father in Heaven sees me as a beloved child despite my “broken” efforts.
Why?
Because my redemption, my restoration-my adoption as a rightful heir perfected through Jesus has set me free from the consequences of sin! I am “no longer a slave”, but I’m a son (daughter)! And “if a son, then an heir through God!!”
Wow, those are some amazing adoption papers!!
Failings in Love ≠ Failings in Freedom
As I ponder God’s love for me, it causes me to reflect on my love for Him.
I think about God’s desire for us to love Him with all our minds, hearts and strength. (Mark 12:30) And truth be told—He actually commands it. Yet, I know full well that at no time EVER, have I done that completely.
My efforts to love God are always polluted or corrupted in some way.
I simply cannot give God the love and honor He truly deserves. And even when I come close, I probably look like a toddler fumbling around with words in His sight. My praise always falls short no matter how good I think it sounds coming out of me!!
This could be very, very discouraging to me. But guess what? It isn’t!
It is TOTALLY freeing!!!!
As I consider my own failure to love God fully, I am encouraged that He is fully capable of loving me. He proved it through sending His one and only Son to restore me and reconcile me to a right relationship with Him.
As I reflect on Jesus, I move a few steps closer to the realization that my broken efforts will always fall short.
But Jesus’ body being “broken” for me will ALWAYS and FOREVER be sufficient!
Joining the lovelies of Grace and Truth linkup with arabahjoy.com
and Susan B Mead #DanceWithJesus http://www.susanbmead.com
faithlikedirtydiapers.com 
Wow, loved reading your words just now… our efforts are polluted and broken and faltering… but as they come from a life desiring Him, He responds with love and grace… what a great message. A freeing message.
I pray hearts are listening to the freedom being offered here today.
Visiting from the #RaRaLinkup 🙂 Great post Christy!
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Glad to link up too! So happy this encouraged you! And thanks for stopping by! 😊
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Beautiful words today to cheer us on in our faith! Thanks for sharing on the #raralinkup! Kim Stewart
http://www.kimstewartinspired.com
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Kim, Thanks for sharing your thoughts and stopping over! 😊
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Your words are powerful and full of truth. “I simply cannot give God the love and honor He truly deserves. And even when I come close, I probably look like a toddler fumbling around with words in His sight. My praise always falls short no matter how good I think it sounds coming out of me!” How wonderful to know that despite our shortcomings, He loves us – and infinitely more than you and your husband love that precious son of yours! What a sweetie 🙂
Blessings,
Kamea
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Thanks, Kamea!I am glad this was an encouragement to you! Yeah-we love our little guy-I was tempted to put a sound bite of it, because we of course we recorded it! LOL
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Just beautiful thoughts here today…”My broken efforts for Jesus will always fall short…But Jesus’ broken body for me will always be sufficient.” !!! Thank you for sharing this today, and for linking up with Raralinkup!
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Thanks for your encouragement, Angela-glad I could share some with you as well! Glad to linkup with you! 🙂
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I’m glad we worship a God who loves us in our brokenness. What a great analogy! Your son is so cute. Seems like just yesterday mine was that small.
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Yes Laura, we love him to pieces! He is growing up so fast, so I rarely correct his mispronunciations…they will fix themselves eventually, and in the mean time I can enjoy all of his best efforts to master language! 🙂
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And that’s why we can always look up and see our Father’s smile! Not because we’re perfect or because we deserve it. But simply because we’re his. What a great reminder!
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Indeed! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, Sheila!
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What a wonderful analogy! I love how excited your little guy gets when his Daddy comes home. A beautiful reminder of the joy and excitement we should feel every time we enter the presence of Jesus. Lovely post, Christy. Visiting from Grace & Truth.
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Thanks Leah, I was sooo close to putting in a sound bite of it! (We recorded him a couple of times! Saving THAT for when he gets older!!) 😉
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I giggled out loud reading of your toddler and his “welcome home” greeting. So cute! And, I love the way you used the analogy to compare how much God loves us despite our brokenness and imperfection. Thank you for always pointing us back to the love of our savior and encouraging us to find freedom in Him. Blessed by your words today, Christy!
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Thanks so much for stopping by, Tina! I am glad it was uplifting!! This thought just blew me away! Sooooo freeing! 🙂
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That is awesome! What a visual the Lord gave us through that. Thanks for sharing friend 🙂
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😊 Glad you stopped by!
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Yes! It’s so freeing to know I don’t have to be perfect to be pleasing to God. Sometimes I forget that. 🙂 Thank you for the reminder. Visiting today from #RaRaLinkup
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Katy, Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for stopping by! 😊
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