One of my favorite things to do as a child was to crawl up into my dad’s lap and watch television. As a matter of fact I have a picture of me as a little boy in my fathers lap and it is one my greatest treasures. I enjoyed it right there more than anyplace else. Why? Because I felt safe. I knew that nothing could happen to me there because I was as close as I could possibly be to the one person who would give his very own life to save mine. There were so many qualities of my father that I loved. He was tall and strong and flew airplanes and played college football. But the one quality that sticks out most in my mind is the genuine love that He had for me. He truly loved his boys with all of his heart and I knew it. And in the safety of his lap is where I felt his love the most.
Our Heavenly Father’s greatest desire for us is not that we serve Him with reckless abandonment or perform moral duties in His name. His greatest desire for us is that we trust Him enough to crawl up into His lap and let Him love on us the way only He can. It is so easy for us to get lost into the religion of tradition. It can be a very dangerous place to be because it limits us from the Father’s love. It diminishes the power of the cross. Wayne Jacobsen says it this way, “By viewing the cross as the offer of a get-out-of-hell free card rather than an invitation of friendship with a gracious Father, we empty it of its power.”
I believe Paul says it best in Romans 8:15. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him, “Abba, Father.”
His greatest desire for you is that you live in His lap and through that intimate relationship the righteousness He desires will flow from your heart like a wellspring.
Perfection is not what He is after. He is after your heart to rest in Him.
Trust His love for you enough to crawl up into His lap and simply say, Abba!
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