Showing The Father’s Love

Showing the Father’s Love

1 John 3:1 “Consider the kind of extravagant love the Father has lavished on us—He calls us children of God! It’s true; we are His beloved children. And in the same way the world didn’t recognize Him, the world does not recognize us either.” (The VOICE)

Great fathers show us how our heavenly Father loves, but they also show us how to love our heavenly Father! Great fathers are always learning about God, about themselves, about others, and especially about their own children. Dads show the love of the Father to us by the way they love. Dads show us how to love the Father by the way they live. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep my commands; and this is My commandment that you love one another!”

-So, the way a Dad loves and the way a Dad lives are very important to God, to our kids, and to our society. Somebody needs to show who God is and what He is like. We all were made in His image, and now we are called to show that likeness to our families and to the world.

-Today I’d like to share some basic ways we can show our kids and grandkids the Father’s love. And since we are all learning, that is how I’ve expressed these thoughts. Dads are learning. Our kids are learning.

1. Learning to say I love you

-Expressing love brings life to our spirit and joy to our soul! It affirms a person’s sense of value and worth when we say that we love them.

5 ways to say, “I love you.” [These are taken from Gary Chapman's book, The Five Love Languages.]

Words of Affirmation

-Mark Twain once said “I can live for two months on a good compliment.” Verbal appreciation. Verbal compliments, offer encouragement. Reinforcing a difficult decision; calling attention to progress made on a current project; acknowledging a person’s unique perspective on an important topic. If a loved one listens for “Words of Affirmation,” offering encouragement will help him or her to overcome insecurities and develop greater confidence.

Quality Time

-Quality time is more than mere proximity. It’s about focusing all your energy on your child. Multi-tasking is NOT quality time. All of your attention is focused on the other person.

-Quality conversation is very important in a healthy relationship. It involves sharing experiences, thoughts, feelings and desires in a friendly, uninterrupted context. Not only listen, but offer advice and respond to show they are truly listening. Even our kids need a sympathetic listener.

-An important aspect of quality conversation is self-revelation. In order for you to communicate, you must also be in tune with your inner emotions. It is only when you understand your emotions and inner feelings will you then be able to share quality conversation, and quality time.

-Quality activities are a very important part of quality time. Many ppl feel most loved when they spend physical time together, doing activities that they love to do. Spending time together will bring a family closer, and, in the years to come, will fill up a memory bank that you can reminisce about in the future.

Gifts

-Some ppl respond well to visual symbols of love. If you speak this love language, you are more likely to treasure any gift as an expression of love and devotion. People who speak this love language often feel that a lack of gifts represents a lack of love. Luckily, this love language is one of the easiest to learn.

-If you want to become an effective gift giver, many ppl will have to learn to change their attitude about money. If you are naturally a spender, you will have no trouble buying gifts for your kids. However, a person who is used to investing and saving their money may have a tough time adjusting to the concept of spending money as an expression of love. These people must understand that you are investing the money not in gifts, but in deepening your relationship with your kids.

-The gift of self is an important symbol of love. Sometimes all your child desires is for someone to be there for them. Your presence can become a very powerful physical symbol of love.

-These gifts need not to come every day, or even every week. They don’t even need to cost a lot of money. Any visible sign of your love will leave them feeling happy and secure in your relationship.

Acts of Service

-While we are trying to teach our kids to do things for themselves, we as parents still serve them every day. Yes, it is often taken for granted and may not result in a thank you, but for some ppl it means a lot when someone (esp. a parent) does something for them.