The Father's Love

I know it has been a long time since I’ve written anything for my blog. I haven’t felt like I had much to say lately. I apologize to my followers and subscribers and those of you who may have checked in occasionally to see if I had written anything.
Perhaps the most prolific period of my writing career (will you allow me to call it that?) was several years ago when I presented Communion Meditations at church. I wrote each one from current experiences or poignant memories and, by the grace of God, received a great deal of affirmation in that effort. So rather than abandon my blog I decided to post some of the stuff I wrote back then.
The piece I’ve copied below is obviously dated, two of my three sons have left home (I miss them dearly) and the camper has been gone for years.
I used to spend a lot of time thinking about my Dad and wondering what kind of a father and husband I would have been if I could have had a relationship with him beyond my early childhood. It may have been on Father’s Day when I first delivered the following piece.

The Father’s Love

There are many ways that each of us could choose to describe our relationship with our father. The measure of the time that we spend with our father is perhaps the most common and useful description of that relationship.
My boys still live at home with their father and we spend a great deal of time together. We work in the yard together, practice baseball together, and sleep in the camper together. We draw pictures, play games, and eat meals together. Sometimes we are delighted with each and sometimes we annoy one another, but we talk about everything. And if one of us is gone for the day or overnight, we really miss each other.
Many of you have left home but you live in the same community with your fathers. I imagine that you spend time with him every weekend. You probably get together for all the birthdays and holidays and big ball games. You may even have breakfast with your father sometimes and talk about familiar things and personal things.
And if he goes on vacation you miss him, you pray for his safety and you may even mark on the calendar when he’s due back.
Others of you, I know, have fathers who live in other parts of the country. You may only see your dad during the holidays or on summer vacation. Telephone and email are great ways to stay in touch, but there’s a wonderful spirit that grows between people who love one another as they spend time with each other. And often it seems that we become most acutely aware of our love for others when we have to say good-bye to them.
Our relationships with our fathers are very powerful and important, whatever form they make take.
Some of us have fathers who have gone before us into eternity. But the spirit of our relationship lives through the memories that we embrace, the legacy that we honor and the blessed assurance that our separation is only temporary.
Jesus spent an immeasurable amount of time with his Father. The Bible teaches that the Father and Son have been with each other from eternity past. And when Jesus was on earth he was known to stay up all night talking to his Father. He told his friends how much he loved his Father. He told them how great would be his joy if they would come to know his Father. And God actually spoke from heaven and told people how much he loves his Son.

John 1:1&2 says:
In the beginning was the Word
And the Word was with God
And the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.

And in John 17:5 Jesus lifts his eyes to heaven and says:
“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence
With the glory I had with you
Before the world began.”

Several hours later, as he hung battered and bleeding and humiliated on the cross, bearing the weight and the penalty of our sins, he cried out:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

It was on the cross that Our Savior, for the first time in eternity, heard his Father say good-bye.