Recently, while I was out jogging, I listened to a recorded conversation between a 9-year-old son and his father. Rain poured down on me, but my eyes were even wetter from tears. The father told his son of the immense joy he felt on the day of the boy’s birth when the doctor had handed him his son for the first time. He also shared the concern he harbored that day: “You know, [I felt] fear . . . I gotta bring up a black boy in Mississippi, which is a tough place to bring up kids . . . there are statistics that say black boys born after the year 2002 have a 1-in-3 chance of going to prison.” Then he added these sobering words: “All three of my sons were born after the year 2002.”
But the conversation didn’t stay somber. There was laughter and love was evident. Albert’s way with his son gave me hope for how a father’s courageous love can nurture a boy into manhood, helping him become a strong, good man. At one point in the conversation, the boy said to his father, “Dad, are you proud of me?”
Isn’t that the question many of us ask our heavenly Father? We long to hear words of affirmation, delight, and belonging. The boy’s father poured out love on his son with his words.
The Scriptures affirm over and again God’s love for us. Indeed, one of Jesus’ central declarations was that “God so loved . . .” (John 3:16 NIV). John encourages us to “see how very much our Father loves us” and assures us that we are the objects of God’s care and delight, because of the simple reason that “[God] calls us his children” (1 John 3:1).
Whatever else may be true, whatever ways we need healing or forgiveness amid our brokenness, this truth undergirds us: God loves us and is proud to call us His children (1 John 3:2).
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Joshua 3:1-17
More:
Read Ephesians 5:1 and consider what Paul calls us to do as God’s much-loved children.
Next:
What does it mean for you to know that God loves you and is proud of you? What keeps you from believing that God looks at you with joy and delight?
Gary Shultz on March 1, 2016 at 6:40 am
I would ask you why your eyes were wetter from tears than rain, but if anyone has been moved by God’s hand of love there is no reason to ask that. To feel, some times while listening to a song, seeing an event reading the word, the rush and warmth of that love saying “I love you” is a compliment almost to large to carry. I long, as do you, for others to experience God’s deep expressions of love to them. Thanks Winn.
godlove on March 1, 2016 at 7:34 am
GOD’s Love is not more evident than by His Grace and Mercy expressed towards us on a daily basis. Not that we have done anything to deserve it as we are reminded in 1 John 4:10. Knowing this gives me Hope that, regardless of my shortcomings which make me feel that He will not be proud of me, His Love sustains me and so I keep trying harder everyday to make Him proud to call me one of His children and praying that on the day when Christ appears I will also be like Him and see Him as He really is. Thanks Winn, great post.
gagirllive on March 1, 2016 at 7:37 am
Winn, I find that if I don’t keep the centrality of the gospel in front of me I can easily forget just how much God loves me. I have enough outward circumstances that would convince me otherwise. It’s only the beauty of Christ and His sacrifice and the promise of eternity with Him that keeps me grounded in that truth. I think it was your last post that you talked about the Father’s disposition of grace towards us. That’s what I hang on to… the Father’s heart for me. As far as wondering if He is “proud” of me, I’ve never considered that. Is it even right? There’s nothing in me to be proud of. Anything of worth in me is all of Christ. I don’t say that with false humility. It’s the truth…about all of us. Help me in this thought. Am I missing something? Very moving story, by the way. Loved it. Where can I hear this recording?
gagirllive on March 1, 2016 at 7:46 am
Hmm…I’m answering my own question here. I suppose like in the case of my own children, I’m proud of them, not only for what they may or may not do, but also on the basis that they are mine. I am His. I guess that makes Him proud.
sdwise on March 1, 2016 at 10:27 am
gagirllive I agree with you that there is nothing in and of ourselves that we can do to be proud of. It is because of my love for Jesus that I “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” stated by Paul in Philippians 3:14. Yet without His strength, grace and mercy, I can do nothing. I just can’t help hearing the word of caution that “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18 Is not pride associated with our ego to be recognized? I believe we need to be careful with acknowledging pride instead of giving encouragement. What does it mean to be proud of someone? Did Jesus every tell His disciples that He was proud of them? For that matter, did anyone in the bible express pride in anyone, except for Jacob with Joseph, or was that favoritism? What am I not seeing here?
gagirllive on March 1, 2016 at 11:05 am
Yes, sdwise. I agree. Something about wanting God to be proud of me doesn’t jive with me. Maybe we are thinking performance -wise. Maybe God’s pride in us is all about possession…the fact that we are simply His…bought and paid in full by the blood of His Son. I don’t know…Let’s see how Winn clarifies.
Winn Collier on March 1, 2016 at 12:43 pm
If the word proud trips you up, then just imagine a dad or a mom breaking into a wide smile when they see their daughter or son walk into the front door after a long time away or that inner joy when their kid tries something difficult (even if they fail) or even the sorrow mixed with gratitude whenever they see the deeper desire or good intentions in their child as they make screw up, knowing that mistakes are part of growing up (and for us, as the Psalmist says, part of being “dust”). I think that picture gives you what I think is important here.
And here’s the audio of the story: https://storycorps.org/listen/albert-sykes-and-aidan-sykes-150320/
gagirllive on March 1, 2016 at 1:16 pm
Ok. ..I think I get what you’re saying. I think I would use the phrase that He “delights in me” instead of being “proud of me” now that you’ve explained. Somehow that turns the focus around on Him instead of me. Maybe it’s just semantics. Thanks, Winn, for replying…and for sending the link. Going to get my kleenex ready.
Winn Collier on March 1, 2016 at 1:26 pm
Use delight then, it’s a grand word. And true. But don’t back away from God beaming at you, God thinking you’re grand.
gagirllive on March 1, 2016 at 3:14 pm
Yeah…it goes back to what I said before…He likes me! Btw, I listened to the link. What a tear-jerker! I can see why it made a grown man cry. Just saying. 🙂
sdwise on March 2, 2016 at 8:20 am
God always loves us even before we come to accept Jesus. It is our actions that please him or grieve Him. Nothing we can do can deminish His love for us. Even if we decide to reject Him, His unconditional love for us gives us our whole life to come to Him before His final judgment.
jim spillane on March 1, 2016 at 11:52 am
Winn – you pose a very challenging question when you ask, “Is God proud of you?” I had to go to the dictionary to get a clear definition of the adjective “proud of.” Here’s what I came up with – it’s a feeling of pleasurable satisfaction with something or someone by which one measures their own self-worth.” Taken in this context, I don’t feel as though we can use it in the question you ask because God has no reason to base His own worth on something that we might have done or are continuing to do. We’re talking about the Almighty and Eternal God here, the Creator and Sustainer of all. To me, based on the definition, it cannot be applied to how our Father might feel about us. He doesn’t derive His own self-worth from us, He is already and always going to be worthy. Our Heavenly Father may take delight in us, but I think that’s different from being “proud of” us. Sorry for the long-winded answer, but you really got me thinking. Thanx and blessings to you and all at the forum.
Winn Collier on March 1, 2016 at 12:45 pm
If the dictionary presents a challenge, then go with delight. I think that’s a fine word – and very true.