Love, Claudia (BWWM)

Chapter Seven

One week later, River was finishing up his lesson for class, which was tomorrow evening.

He was going to begin with the explanation of who God is.

Lesson one would explain God, the Father.

It was one of the first things he studied after leaving the hospital and having access to his computers.

Fathers were important and River loved his own, when he was alive, along with his mother.

And after they passed when River was twelve, he was put in foster care and passed around from home to home, but by the time he was seventeen, he decided that he was finished being passed around.

However, he was always open to having new parents. It just never happened.

Until after the accident, which was twenty-one years later.

Miracle and her husband Chester became the spiritual parents River needed.

They took time and helped him understand the Word, but he took the step to understand God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

When he learned about Father God and how He gave His son away to be the sacrifice for all people, even people like River, he was gobsmacked and overcome with tears of gratitude.

When he read the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, he found the unmatched love of God. From the moment God created the world, God knew.

He had a plan all along.

But still, He didn't force creation to obey Him. He gave them a will, a choice, a mind, to decide if they'd believe that God is always more than enough, or believe a lie that they needed to make their own way, they needed to be like God, all-knowing.

River was amazed to see the grace God extended to the people. He was the Father to the people, the Guide, Lord, Worthy, but they constantly chose to ignore Him and forget Him and even mock Him.

He loved them still.

Why?

River wondered why, how, and why did God still love them.

Why didn't God end all creation and just go back to how life was before?

Because He is Faithfulness.

He is faithful.

And the Father never forsakes His word.

He remembered the Parable of the Loving Father.

The father welcomed his once wayward son with grace, kindness, and undeserved love. He forgave him for all he'd done and loved him.

The father didn't berate him, he knew the son had endured enough being in the world alone, experiencing things the father wanted to keep him from.

So he welcomed him with love. He didn't remind the son of what he'd done.

No.

When the son returned, he returned in repentance. Ready to do all he could to just be right before his father again, or merely tolerated enough to be kept as a servant.

But the father welcomed him with a feast, a celebration, with open arms.

"But when he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men."' So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him."