How Many Is That?

When my daughter, Cristina, was three she was given a toy by her friend Brandon. He told her she could keep it for thirty days. All day she held that toy like it was gold, and even took it into the bathtub with her, and finally to bed. As I tucked her in, she said, "Dad, how many is thirty... is it all my fingers and toes?" I responded, "Well, it's all your fingers and all your toes and all my toes too!" She laughed her cute, cuddly laugh and replied, "That's a lot." We hugged and giggled as our heads huddled together on her pillow.

I am waiting for the day when Cristina asks me an even bigger question, "Dad, how much does God love me?" I want to help her understand that His love is immeasurable.

God's love cannot be defined by adding fingers and toes, or even by counting the stars in the sky. His love is so much greater than that.

Psalm 57:10 teaches us God's love reaches to the heavens. How much is that? Scientists have yet to find the point where the heavens end. They cannot be measured.

The greatest wonder of all is that this immeasurable love of God is a gift freely given to you and me. There is nothing we can do to earn it or be worthy of it. His love goes before us and behind us, and nothing can separate us from it.

It is important that our children begin to learn about God's great love early in their lives, for it is the very foundation of our faith. What an awesome job for us as parents - to teach our children about something so great it cannot be measured.

One of the ways we keep this in front of ourselves and our family is to daily count our blessings and simply talk about the things that matter to our family. Recently at our dinner table we did just that. I had each family member point out something that they saw in the room or out the window that was a reason to give thanks. There were simple things mentioned like dandelions and picture frames, but each of them brought out the fact and idea that without God we simply have nothing. Keep that thought in the front of your mind. Understand the mystery of God's great love for us individually and how He created this beautiful earth for us to enjoy.