Choosing to Love

By Eric Elder

www.theranch.org





If you read the tribute I wrote to my dad last week, you’ll know that I thought my dad was a great man, “A grand man, a man of the land,” as I described him. Today, in the words of the famous radio announcer, Paul Harvey, who also died a few weeks ago, I want to tell you “the rest of the story.”



Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell you that my dad wasn’t a great man. He was! But I do want to tell you that I didn’t always perceive him to be a great man. He was, like me, imperfect. And he was, like me, probably more aware of his imperfections than anyone else. As D.L. Moody said, “I have more trouble with D.L. Moody than with any other man I ever met.”



But there were times when I tended to let his flaws overshadow his greatness. There were things he did that I wished he didn’t do, and things he didn’t do that I wish he did. One of those things became apparent to me one weekend when I was attending a Christian conference.



The speaker was talking about the power of saying the simple words, “I love you.” He asked us if there was anyone in our life whom we wished had spoken those simple words out loud to us. As I thought about his question, I tried to remember the last time my dad had told me he loved me. I couldn’t remember.



But then the speaker challenged us by asking us when we had said, “I love you,” to that person. As I thought about that, I couldn’t remember saying it to my dad, either.



I was convicted of the very thing I felt he hadn’t done. I decided to go visit my dad that week, bring lunch over to his house, and, as awkward as it may be, tell him, “Dad, I just wanted to tell you I love you.”



It was that same weekend that I returned home and my wife told me that my dad had called. He wanted to surprise me by bringing the piano over from his house to mine, because he knew I wanted a better one than I had. I broke down and cried. I realized that this was just one of many ways that my dad had demonstrated to me over the years how much he loved me, more than a thousand “I love you’s” ever could.



I did bring him lunch that week and told him I loved him, too. It was a turning point for me in my relationship with him as an adult. Writing the tribute to him was yet another turning point as God brought to mind scene after scene from my life where my dad’s life had had a positive impact on my own. By honoring my dad in this way, God poured out His blessings on me as well. I was experiencing just what the Bible verse promised:



“Honor your father and mother”--which is the first commandment with a promise-- “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth” (Ephesians 6:2).



When I finally honored my dad the way that God had called me to do all along, God opened my eyes to see the blessings He had already poured out on my life, and He opened the door to the blessing of a renewed relationship with my Dad these past many years.



So now you know “the rest of the story.” My dad really was a great man, and I’m thankful that my perception of that reality finally caught up to the truth.



By choosing to love others, God can use that love to pour out blessings on you that you may have never experienced otherwise.



Keep choosing to love those whom God has placed in your life. Keep choosing to love those who may seem to be unlovable. Keep choosing to love others, in spite of their flaws, and in spite of your own perceptions of reality. As the Bible says:



“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).



Let’s pray...



Father, thank You for loving me in spite of my flaws and failings, and help me to love others with that same kind of love. Open my eyes to see the whole truth, and help me to love those whom You have placed in my life so that they--and I-- can experience the full extent of the blessings You have in store for us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.