How Great the Father's Love for Us

How Great the Father's Love for Us

How great the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch his treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chose one
Bring many sons to Glory

Behold the man upon the cross
My sin upon his shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers.
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no pow'r, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

This song is amazing, and it's really touched us a lot lately. Today, I had to call Child Protection Services and leave my class because one of my students threatened suicide. I was in my principals office for a good hour. It was a drama filled morning! With Betsy's death, I have not found that God is being easier on me because I am grieving. In fact, he has given me two VERY hard days in a row. Today, I said to some of my coworkers that God was testing me. She said, "No he's not. God's not like that. He doesn't just wish ill will on people and decide He's going to do certain things to them." Basically she doesn't think bad things should happen to good people. In response I said, "I know God is testing me because he loves me. He's wanting me to learn something."

You want to know what it is? He's reminding me that I can do NOTHING without Him. Like the line in the song, "WHy should I gain from His reward?" We should be thankful that He even saved us! He could have just left it as it was and let us live eternally without hope. There is nothing "good" about us. I had, prior to Betsy's death, lost sight of how much I can't do without God. I had relied on myself to fix things and to get through the school day. But lately, I cannot deny what God is trying to do. He knows this is exactly what I needed. I needed extreme circumstances, like a parent cussing me out, a kid almost hitting me, and having to call CPS to wake me up. I came home with a smile on my face today. Most people wouldn't have! But I consider myself a very loved child of God.....how great the Father's love for us.

Steph