John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

This parenting thing is not all that easy, sometimes it’s really tough. It becomes even more difficult when you have multiple little ones. We’ve got three kids that are growing up so very fast. One thing I often think about is how it is impossible to treat them the same, after all they are little individuals who will grow to be their own anointed man/woman after God’s own heart. I write this because the other day we were prepping for dinner, it was chili, a family favorite. My wife dished out the meal and I was helping for a change and putting dinner out on the table. It was then that God showed me once again how much He loves us.

My boys are growing fast and eating even faster. Whether it’s breakfast or dinner they can always be found when during meal time, they get it from me I’m pretty sure. J This day was one of those times when I watched their eyes and attempted to jump into their minds to see what they are thinking. While putting the food before my youngest son (the middle child), I saw him looking closely at the bowls. You see my wife put just a little more chili in one of the boy’s bowls. The boys are about 17 months apart in age and pretty close in everything else, including serving sizes. I know that there are times when they need a little extra love, so that day I gave him the bowl with a little extra, however he didn’t notice. What he did notice was when I dished out the chips, I watched him as I shorted him on the chips and gave his older brother a few extra ones, compensating for the chili. I watched his eyes dim and look sharply at his brother then at his chips, finally his head dropped. I was now in his mind and I knew exactly what he was feeling.

You know this scripture, you’ve heard it a million times…..But it remains so powerful and true. God so loves you and me. But let’s face it sometimes our faith tends not to agree. It is often hard to believe it’s possible for God to love us all the same. Sometime others have more chili in their bowls. There are times when we feel that God loves others more than he loves us. I want you to know it’s not just you, it’s Satan. What??

Satan wants us to feel like he felt before God expelled him from Heaven (Isaiah 14:12; Rev 12). He was kicked out because he wanted to take over, but remember, he was the worship leader for God’s congregation. A devout follower of God and then one day he wasn’t. Now there is a “brother” that he feels God loves more. God seated us in very High Places (Ps 8:5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.) and now Satan is under our feet…. and it pisses him off. So he spends a majority of his time trying to make sure that “brother (us)” believe that we could never be fully loved by God, never fully forgiven. But that is a lie strait from his pit!!!

Back to the chili… Later that evening when my son and I were alone, I asked him about the situation and how it made him feel. Eventually he admitted that it made him feel like I loved his brother more than him. For the next few minutes I explained to him that I only gave his brother extra chips because he got extra chili. I told him, how special he was and how much I loved him, that I loved all of my children the same, but each very differently and why. I hugged him so tightly (he’s a hugger) and assured him that I loved him sooooooooooooooooooooo much.

Doesn’t God do that for us all of the time, constantly reassuring us of His love? Which is why I will never get tired of hearing “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Don’t you let Satan make you think God is like us! He can love us more than we could ever imagine, and He loves us all the same, but very differently. Jesus came and sacrificed so we would never have to question the awesome love of our Father. Enjoy it, it’s all yours.