It’s been a while since I’ve added to my series on, The Love of a Father, but something my two year old said a while back, has inspired me with a thought I’d like to share. I believe without a doubt, one of the many gifts our children enrich our lives with, is a better understanding to the love that our Heavenly Father bestows upon His children. I didn’t possess the true insight into the love of a Father until six years ago, when my wife and I were blessed with a beautiful baby girl, Payton Gabrielle Sullivan. It truly changed my life for the better, and I begin to see much more into the Heavenly realm of God’s majestic love for His children. A father’s love is so powerful, because it will drive us to the ends of the earth to do what we can for our children. It will empower a man to protect, nourish, and provide for his family to the extent of self-sacrifice. Hence, it was God’s love for you and I that caused Him to take on flesh, come to this earth and reveal Himself as a Man, for the sole purpose of dying on a Cross for our sins. As the song goes, “when he was on the Cross, I was on his mind.” I now understand and appreciate the Scripture found in Matthew VII:

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”

That’s a powerful reminder, that in spite of our failures, He still loves us, and cares about the needs of His children. Today, I stand blessed to have a double portion of love with my two beautiful girls, Payton and Olivia. Before Olivia was born, I was afraid I couldn’t love her the same as I did Payton, but the Lord has simply caused my love to increase and abound in a way I thought wasn’t possible.

A while back, Olivia said something to me that stuck into my heart, and I knew I would write about it one day. She was playing one day, doing something as I was doing my own thing, and she wanted me to see what she was doing so she yelled, “look at me daddy.” It was the first time she had said that in her young life, and that’s considered by the medical profession, a milestone in the life of a toddler: The need for a parent’s attention and approval. She said that in hopes of feeling a sense of validation in her own life, even at such a young age. It was then I felt the Lord impressed a thought into my spirit, we too even as adults have that same need in our own life. Its human nature feel the need to be validated by our earthly father, because we want them to be proud of us, and have a sense of self-worth. Here in lies the problem to so many hurting people in this world. They never received the love and validation of their worth as a child, and it caused them much heartache and pain, usually seeking approval through the wrong means. A young girl that never receives love and a feeling of self-worth from their father, will usually turn to drugs, or a promiscuous life because she’s seeking for the validation. Or, a young boy who never feels love in the home, will become bitter at a young age, and turn to violence and perhaps drugs to ease the pain. It’s a trait inherently put within each of us that begins early as a young toddler, and never stops as long as we live. It’s that feeling, “look at me daddy,” that’s in each of us to feel important, to feel like our life matters. We are currently living in a world that has bought into the fallacy of seeking the approval of our peers, based on the number of likes we get on social media, or the number of followers we can achieve. It’s that human nature that drives people to seek validation from those around them, even to the extent of becoming shallow in who they are as a person. Personally, I see it as an epidemic, and we are selling ourselves short on remembering, WE HAVE A HEAVELY FATHER IN HEAVEN WHO IS THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN TRULY VALIDATE OUR LIFE. He’s up there saying, hey, I still love you, I am watching your life, and you don’t have to look elsewhere. I believe we suffer from many unnecessary anxieties in life, because we’re seeking the approval in the wrong places. It bleeds into our walk with God, in the fact that we want our good deeds to be noticed by everyone to feel accomplished. It all goes back to my two year old’s words, “look at me daddy.” I want to remind everyone, God takes good notes, and He sees all the good deeds we are doing in this life. He sees the sacrifice, and hard work we are putting in as people on this earth. Yet, I feel He wanted me to be reminded, and share with everyone that He alone can give us the validation we so desire. Don’t seek it in man, because God will not reward twice. The Pharisees sought the approval of their peers, and wanted people to see how holy they were, but it was on a superficial surface. They only sought the approval of man. Matthew VI say’s:

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

If we bypass the approval of our Heavenly father, and only seek it in this world, He will not reward us. That is a powerful truth to always remember in this life. If we seek peace in this world, you’re going to be let down. If you seek validation in this world, you’re always going to be left wanting. Look at Hollywood, that’s the epitome of seeking man’s approval, and it’s full of people in pain and misery. Hence, the words of David, “the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.” Never forget, the Lord is up in Heaven at this moment, and He is for you: He wants you to make it. He loves you, and simply wants you to always look to Him for your need of self-worth. Only He can truly validate your life. The Lord continues to teach me on this journey called life, and He uses my children for many lessons. Thanks for taking the time to read my musings, may the Lord bless and keep you in His love and mercy.