I shared in a previous entry about my dad and just how frightening he could be. It was really only when I had children that I came to understand another reality—much of his control and over-the-top behavior toward his children was because of his deep love for us. Don’t get me wrong, I know my dad, like all men, was flawed by sin. He wasn’t even a Christian when I was growing up.

However, he raised eight kids first as a farmer and then as a common oil field worker. To my knowledge, no one in either of their families had ever gotten college educations. We were quite poor but he insisted my mom stay home and take care of the kids. My mom died when I was nearly 12, and then he finished raising the four kids who were still at home. But, along with my mom he raised eight kids. The results are pretty impressive actually, if I do say so myself.
All eight are Christians. All are respected members of communities who have in the past and/or still maintain good, stable jobs (a couple are retired). Seven have Bachelor’s Degrees and one has a technical license in cosmetology. Six out of eight have Master’s Degrees. He had 20 grandkids. Presently, 15 of the 20 have at least a Bachelor’s Degree or higher. Three are still working toward one. Nearly half have advanced degrees of various kinds. Almost all of them are Christians. By my best count, there are 24 living great-grandkids. They’re following the same path laid out by my parents—most are Christians, most are working toward degrees (a few have already completed theirs). I could boast more, but I think I’ve made my point.

My mom died in 1964 and my dad joined her in 1998. But, they definitely left a pretty good record. My dad, along with my mom, accomplished things most only dream of with their kids, and most don’t have nearly that many! He raised a pack of Christians and he WASN’T even a Christian until I was able to baptize him when he was about 70 years old. Most CHRISTIAN parents could only dream of doing what he did. Both my parents were common people with high school educations. They came from poor country families.

How’d they do it?

They were passionate about their kids, that’s how. And, that passion was translated into standards and actions: don’t be just a “follower,” go to college and get your degree because they “can’t take it from you,” you will do as your told and you won’t complain about it, you will spend lots of time with the family, if you go against the rules you’d better not get caught, etc. We bought into most of it.

I could spend quite a bit of time cataloging all the problems and mistakes that were also un-doubtable. And specifically, the passion of my dad boiled over into some ugly behavior. I mentioned just a little of it in another blog. But, it was his passion that ultimately made him frightening to us (and to others, I might say).

It’s the same way with God. Jehovah God is a most passionate God. “For God so loved the world…” (John 3:16). “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us…God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:5, 8). “Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions…in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:4, 7). “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1).

God loves us. And, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). It is that love that keeps us in check. “For Christ love compels us…” (2 Cor. 5:14). His love is compelling. His love is constraining. It keeps us on track and it drives us down that track. Whether we like it or not.

There’s a cost to being deeply loved by another. There are risks in being loved by another. There are responsibilities of being loved by another. There are constraints of being loved by another.
As a father, I love my kids dearly and deeply. My love for them is matched only by that of their mom. And, our mutual love for our children only intensifies our love for each other too. My passion and zeal for my kids scares me some times. It is a most powerful driving force in my life. It hurts me infinitely more to see my kids in pain than for me to go through pain myself. I would at any time take their sickness, hurt and/or pain upon myself rather than see them endure it. I just know I’d die for them in a second.

But, my kids could also tell you that that love can be a little scary. I was committed to standing between them and the destruction of the sinful world. I, tongue-in-cheek, told them that if they ever smoked cigarettes, I’d cut their lips off. I told them if they ever got an ear-piercing I’d cut their ear lobes off. I said if any of them got a tattoo, I’d scrape it off with a knife. I also told them if they ever drank alcohol, I’d cut their tongues out. You get my drift. The actual threats were, of course, idle and for humor, but the underlying threats were real. And, they knew it. I told one of them I’d duct tape them to me 24/7 before I’d let them go down a sinful, destructive path. I meant it.

But by comparison, my love is only a small reflection of the love of God. My dad’s love was only a hint of the love of God. In that we are sinful beings, at our best, our love and passion can drive us to do even sinful things. But, God is not sinful. Still, his love defines him. “God is love” (1 John 4:16). And his passionate love leads to heaven or hell. His passionate love led him to the cross. His passionate love leads him to amazing acts of mercy as well as to amazing acts of fury. “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31).

So, how do we relate to such a God? Go to Part II to see my thoughts.