God Has No Grandchildren

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!”

1 John 3:1

As our family eagerly awaits the birth of yet another grandchild this next month I am reminded of a quote I read a few years ago. It said, “God has no grandchildren” and to be totally honest the thought made me sad. I love my children more than life itself and each one is special to my wife and I in a way their siblings can’t be but something happened in our lives the day our kids had their own children. I don’t say this lightly when I say that I think our hearts actually got bigger when we became grandparents and the love we have for my grandchildren goes deeper than I ever thought possible. To say they are our pride and joy doesn’t begin to express our heart for Reese and Charlie and Quinn.

And yet I really do understand the theological perspective that God doesn’t have grandchildren as each of us who comes to Him by faith is received as His very own child. After all, it was Jesus Himself who taught us to pray, “Our Father”. God really is our Heavenly Father and what a love He has loved us with. It will take you a million lifetimes to just scratch the surface of God’s love for us. It’s beyond deep and wide. It’s as endless as He is, for God is love! (1 John 4:8)

God loves His children so much, loved one, that if you compare the depth of parental love to depth of God’s love Jesus says our love looks more like hatred in comparison to the love God. Jesus put it like this, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:11).

I look forward to lavishing good gifts on my grandchildren and yet I am humbled when I realize that my love for them is no where close to the love of God for you and me, not even close! Kick that around today and think on it for a while. Think of someone you love today, I mean someone you really love. Just think, Gods love for them and for us is even greater than our deepest love for others, even deeper than the love we have for our children and grandchildren. Again, Jesus says our love at its best actually looks more like our worst when set next to Jesus love. Like the song sings, “Amazing love, how can it be that you would die for me”.

I doubt very seriously any of us can fathom the depth of God’s love for His children but if you want to get a glimpse of how much God loves you today, simply focus on the Cross of Christ. Think deep about what Jesus suffered for you in your place and consider that Jesus suffered for you with joy, that is right, with joy. He lovingly and willingly took our place on the Cross so that we could be adopted into the family of God and become children of our Heavenly Father. Greater love has no man than this, that a man would lay down his life for his friends. Talk about love!

“For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:7-8

I LOVE YOU!