Morning Devotional

July 9, 2003

“Happy Birthday Kyle”  

by Don Emmitte

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How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  (1 John 3:1-2 NLV). 

Today’s is our oldest son’s birthday. Kyle is 29 years old! How time has flown by these years. I can be very nostalgic, especially on these special occasions. I have learned so many principles from watching and listening to my children.  They are a constant source of joy and goodness in my life. The following fable illustrates one of those truths Kyle reminded me of recently. 

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all prepared their boats and left the island. Love was the only one who stayed behind. You see, Love wanted to wait until the last possible moment before leaving. The island was almost sunk, and Love decided to ask for help. Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, "Richness, can you take me with you?" Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you." Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel, "Vanity, please help me!" "I can't help you Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered. Sadness was close by so Love asked for help, "Sadness, let me go with you." "Oh...Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!" Happiness passed by Love too; Happiness did not hear the cry for help; for Happiness was so happy. Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come Love, I will take you." It was an elder. Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that Love forgot to ask the elder' s name. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went on its way. Love, realizing how much it owed the elder asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who helped me?" "It was Time," Knowledge answered. "Time?" asked Love, "But why did Time help me?" Knowledge smiled with deep Wisdom and answered, "Because only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is."  

Just the other day Kyle remarked how much he loved his children, even though they haven’t been born yet and, of course, he hasn’t seen them. The twins are due in January. However, they have seen the sonograms of them and are carefully following all of the necessary medical treatments to insure they get the best of prenatal care. Jeremiah declared that God loved us before we were ever formed in our mother’s womb. As our reading declares this morning, that love is a great love lavished on us. It is not a love that can be expressed by riches, vanity, or emotion. It is a love expressed from the depth of sacrifice that time has proven. God loved us so much that he gave His most precious possession – His Son! When my children were born, and more and more each day, I understood how great that love must have been to sacrifice so much on my behalf. What a love!  

Happy birthday Kyle! And, thanks for all the lessons you have been a part of in teaching me the truth of God love!