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God Is Love


One of our greatest needs as human beings is to be loved. We all need love. We need to know that we are important to somebody, that somebody truly cares about us, wants us, and accepts us unconditionally. When we doubt that we are loved, we may develop unacceptable behavior patterns to compensate for it.
For example, we may act irresponsibly in a desperate attempt to get attention. Attention is a poor substitute for love but it seems better than nothing at all. We may develop physical symptoms that bring us sympathy and concern. The symptoms cause us genuine pain, but the pain of sickness is more bearable than the pain of admitting that nobody cares. We may angrily lash out at those whom we think should care or we may try to run away from them and hide, but in either case, we are trying to protect ourselves from the hurt they are causing us by their lack of concern. We all need to know that somebody loves us.
The good news from God’s Word is that somebody does. To know Him is to find release from the crippling effects of feeling unloved. Twice the Apostle John categorically stated that God is love (1 John 4:8,16). Love is one of the warmest words in the English language, and that God is love is one of the most sublime, uplifting, and reassuring truths known to mankind. Love is His nature. It is not merely a friendly attitude He projects. It is the essence of His being. He is always going to act toward us in love because He cannot do otherwise. Love is the way He is.
No one attribute of God is any more important than any other, and all His attributes are expressed in conjunction with each other. Yet some believe that love may be the most powerful motivating force in all of God’s being. It deeply affects everything else God is and all that He does. Knowing God’s love could well be the believer’s key to a well-balanced, satisfying life of peace, productivity, and power. It would be rather presumptuous to assume that we can exhaust the subject of God’s love in one brief chapter, but let us try to scratch the surface and begin to explore this fathomless truth. Here are eight characteristics of God’s love.

God’s Love Is Self-Giving

Love involves action. It is expressed in the giving of oneself for the good of another, so it always demands an object. Whenever we talk about love we are suggesting that there is more than one person involved. There must be at least two—the one who loves and the one who is loved. If God has always been love and love demands an object, we may wonder how God demonstrated His love before He created angels or men. Jesus answered that question. He revealed that there was a love relationship between the persons of the triune Godhead from eternity past, when He said to His Father, “Thou didst love Me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). We have seen that God is complete and sufficient in and of Himself. He has no needs which must be met by others outside Himself. He did not need to create other beings in order to express His love. It was perfectly expressed between the persons of the Trinity from all eternity.
Yet He did create. Why? He wanted so much to manifest His love that He first created the angelic hosts and later the human race so that he might communicate Himself to them, give of Himself for them, and bestow His very best on them for their benefit and blessing. Our love is often selfish and demanding. God’s love is pure. Because He is love, He loves to give. Jesus said He gives good things to those who ask Him (Matthew 7:11). James went so far as to say that every good gift finds its source in Him (James 1:17). Since God is love, we can expect Him to give of Himself.
Knowing the God of love can help to make us more loving and giving persons. Not only will getting to know Him more intimately cause us to become more like Him, but resting secure in the assurance that He loves us will keep us from making demands of others and free us to reach out unselfishly and minister to them for their benefit alone. It is vitally important that we understand how much God loves us.

God’s Love Is Sacrificial

Not only does God’s love motivate Him to give, but it motivates Him to give when it costs Him dearly. That too is different from our love. We hesitate to do anything for others that will cost us too much or inconvenience us too greatly. But God’s love cost Him the very best that He had—His only Son. That is the message of the greatest love text in the Bible: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God’s giving His Son involved more than merely allowing Him to leave Heaven’s glory and enter earth’s history. It meant allowing Him to die in our place and pay the awful debt of our sins. God proved His love conclusively and irrefutably by sending His Son to the cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9-10). That is sacrificial love.
It was no less of a sacrifice for God the Son than it was for God the Father. His willingness to offer Himself was the summit of sacrificial love. Paul called Him “the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20). When the same apostle outlined God’s principles for harmonious marital relationships, he said, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). Jesus Christ made the supreme sacrifice for us when He died in our place. He was falsely accused, beaten, spit on, crowned with thorns, nailed to a cross, and left to die the most excruciating death known to man. The infinite curse of sin’s penalty, the Father’s just punishment for the whole world’s guilt, was laid on Him as He hung on that cross. He possessed the power to walk away from it unscathed, yet He voluntarily stayed there and bore that suffering for us. There simply is no greater love (John 15:13).
Whenever we are tempted to think that nobody loves us, we need to think of the cross. Jesus bore that shame and suffering because He loves us. He values us so highly that He was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to secure for us eternal joy. That is the epitome of love. Knowing Him intimately will motivate us to make some sacrifices for the good of others—for our spouses, our children, and other members of the body of Christ. It will help us give up what we want in order to minister to their needs.

God’s Love Is Unconditional

One of the most amazing things about God’s love is that it is extended to us when we do not deserve it and continues steadfast and strong even when we do not respond to it. In other words, His love is unconditional. That certainly is different from our love. We have a tendency to show more love to the people who obviously love us and less love to the ones who do not. We express our love to our spouses and our children when they perform to our expectations and we withhold it from them when they displease us. We shower affection on the lovable children and avoid the belligerent little rascals who look as if they might want to kick us in the shins. I find it easy to express my love to my wife when she tells me what a wonderful husband I am, but not quite so easy when she scolds me for not taking out the trash. I find it easier to be loving toward my children when they are obeying me willingly, but not quite so easy when they are resisting me.
God is not like that. The best-loved verse in the Bible says, “For God so loved the world,” that is, the whole world. That does not refer to the materials out of which our planet is constructed, but to the world of people. It does not mean the whole mass of humanity generally; it refers to each individual sinful person. The Bible categorizes all of them as God’s enemies, people who have willfully set themselves against Him (cf. Romans 5:10; Colossians 1:21). God even loves His enemies—all of them.
There is not one good thing in any of us that merits God’s love. He does not love us because we are so lovable or because we can somehow make ourselves worthy of His love. We are totally unworthy, yet He prizes us highly and showers His very best on us. It is His love for us that gives us our worth. God finds great delight and receives great glory when we respond to His love, enter His fellowship, and do His will. In fact, He made us for that purpose. But whether or not we ever return His love, He keeps on extending it to us. There is nothing we can do to make Him love us any more, and nothing we ever do will cause Him to love us any less. He loves us perfectly and completely regardless of how we perform. His love is unconditional.
So many of us are performance oriented. We have felt approved and accepted when we have performed to someone else’s satisfaction, and disapproved and rejected when we have failed to live up to their standards. Consequently, we treat others the same way. If they please us, we treat them kindly and considerately. If they displease us, we feel justified in treating them unkindly and unlovingly. Knowing God intimately will help us express love to others when they do not perform to our expectations.
There is a great Biblical illustration of God’s unconditional love in His relationship with the nation Israel. “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). Can we see what He is implying? There is no human reason for His love for Israel. They were a rebellious, stiff-necked people. But He loved them simply because He loved them.
That is how it is with you and me. He loves us just because He loves us. Nothing we ever did made Him love us, so nothing we ever do will make Him stop loving us. He loves us when we’re grouchy just as much as when we’re glad. He loves us when we sin just as much as when we don’t. He loves us when we open our mouths and say things we know we shouldn’t have said. He loves us when our wives or husbands or parents or children are not treating us as though they love us. He loves us when we’re feeling as though nobody in the whole world loves us. He loves us even when we don’t like ourselves. He never stops loving us.

God’s Love Is Eternal

This message also was given originally to the nation Israel, but its application is for every true child of God.
The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying,
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness (Jeremiah 31:3).
That everlasting love reaches into eternity past. He knew us and loved us before He made us, when we were but a thought in His mind. And He will love us for eternity to come, for, as Paul assured us, nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:39). The love of an eternal God must be an eternal love.
If anybody ever deserved to forfeit the love of Christ it was His earthly disciples. They were men of inestimable spiritual privileges, yet they displayed an amazingly small degree of spiritual insight. Witness their behavior on the evening of the last Passover. The impending ordeal of bearing the world’s sins was weighing heavily on the Lord’s heart and He longed for their prayerful support. But Luke informs us that they were more interested in arguing about which one of them was the greatest (Luke 22:24).
None of them even extended the common social courtesy of the day by washing the others’ feet when they entered the room for dinner. They probably were too busy competing for the seats of honor near the Lord. Later three of them fell asleep when they were supposed to be praying, all of them deserted the Lord when He was taken captive, one of them denied Him, and another one later doubted Him. Notice how this upper room episode began: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13:1). To the end of what? Who can really say? He will love us to the end of our waywardness and wanderings. He will love us to the end of our deepest need. He will love us to the end of our lives, to the end of time, to the farthest extremity of eternity. He will love us forever. His love is eternal.
How can we ever exhaust the love of God! The love of an infinite God must be infinite love. Paul called it a love that “surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19), far greater than our finite minds can grasp. He also called it a “great love” (Ephesians 2:4). He referred to its breadth, its length, its depth, and its height (Ephesians 3:18), but it is obvious that he was speaking of dimensions that defy measurement: breadth and length which encompass the whole world, a depth which reaches to the lowest sinner, a height which exalts us to the loftiest Heaven. God’s love has no limit. It is described in F. M. Lehman’s gospel song:
Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above, Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Tho’ stretched from sky to sky.
I read somewhere that those words were penciled on the wall of a narrow room in an asylum by a man who supposedly was demented, and they were discovered after his death. He was not demented at all. He had learned one of the most precious truths of all time, that God’s love is infinite. We can no more exhaust it than we can empty the ocean with a bucket. And we are invited to keep drawing from His inexhaustible supply. To do so will enable us to keep extending love to those around us even when our love is not returned.

God’s Love Is Holy

When some people hear that God’s love is self-giving, sacrificial, unconditional, eternal, and infinite, they get the idea that it is merely soft, sloppy sentimentality, that God is an indulgent Father who gives us everything we want and conveniently turns His head the other way when we sin. But that is not the case. Everything God does is done in the totality of His being, so His love must always be consistent with His other attributes. Since God is holy, then His love must be a holy love that encourages holiness in those loved. The evidence is overwhelming! For example, in the same context in which Paul explains that we in love were predestined unto the adoption of sons, he states God’s purpose for choosing us. It is “that we should be holy and without blame before Him” (Ephesians 1:4). Love and obedience consistently go together in Scripture: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3; cf. also John 14:15; 15:10).
God will use every loving means at His disposal to encourage our obedience. He does that because He loves us. We discussed discipline when we studied God’s holiness, but we cannot overlook it here. The writer to the Hebrews encouraged us not to regard God’s discipline lightly. It is the evidence of His love for us (Hebrews 12:5-6). He knows that obedience to His Word will be for our greatest happiness, so He takes steps to help us want to obey Him. If He did not love us, He would not care about our happiness.
What kind of loving parents would we be if we let our children do anything they pleased, such as put their hands in the fire, ride their tricycles on the freeway, or play superman on the roof of the house? The authorities would probably declare us to be unfit parents. Our love constrains us to discipline in order to insure the kind of behavior that will bring our children future happiness. And that is exactly what our loving heavenly Father does.
He does not enjoy inflicting pain any more than we do. Before my father spanked me as a child, he used to say, “This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.” That was difficult for me to believe at the time, and I never understood it until I became a parent myself. Then it became all too clear. It wasn’t my hand that hurt; it was my heart. God says the same thing. Concerning His people Israel we read, “In all their affliction He was afflicted” (Isaiah 63:9). He feels our pain because He loves us. Don’t chafe under His disciplinary hand. He knows best what we need, and He always administers it in love for our best interests. We can respond to His holy love by bringing our lives into conformity to His Word.

God’s Love Is Comforting

Some children would give everything they have for someone who loves them and cares enough for them to set limits on their behavior and administer loving discipline when they violate those limits. That would mean more to them than all the material things in the world because it is the evidence of true love, and true love brings security and comfort. They know that someone who loves them enough to endure the unpleasantness of administering discipline will do everything in his power to take care of them, and that brings them genuine consolation. When we grasp the reality of God’s love, we will no longer seek our security in jobs, bank accounts, investments, houses, husbands, wives, friends, or health. We will rest in the Lord, free from all fear, secure in the assurance that He is going to provide all that we need and protect us from everything that will not be for our good.
Listen to the Apostle John again: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love” (1 John 4:18). God never punishes His children. He laid all the punishment for our sins on His Son. He disciplines us in love for our benefit, but even that is nothing to be afraid of. Understanding God’s love eliminates all fear—fear of God’s discipline, fear of what tomorrow holds, fear of losing a loved one, fear of losing a job, fear of natural catastrophies, fear of global war, fear of suffering, fear of death, fear of being alone, fear of rejection. God loves us! There is nothing to fear. His love is comforting.

God’s Love is Life-Changing

Most of us long to be loving people, able to give love to our spouses, our children, our fellow believers, our unsaved acquaintances, and, most of all, to the Lord Himself. But we find it so difficult. It is nearly impossible for us to love others unless we are genuinely convinced that we ourselves are loved. Some of us are hard, callused, insensitive, and unloving people because we are not convinced we are really loved. We are saying unconsciously, “Why should I be loving to others when nobody shows me any love?” God’s love can change that. We can find all the acceptance and affection we crave in Him; then with the confidence that we ourselves are loved, we can extend love to others. “We love,” said the Apostle John, “because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
It really is true—God loves us. Jesus said it plainly: “For the Father Himself loves you” (John 16:27). It is to our advantage to know and believe the love that He has for us (1 John 4:16). We may never be able to grasp it fully with our human understanding alone, but God is ready to make it real to us if our hearts are open and receptive to His Word. Then, secure in His love, we shall be able to reach out in love to others, unselfishly, sacrificially, unconditionally, and inexhaustibly. It will profoundly influence our relationships with those around us.
A world-renowned theologian was asked by a student what he considered to be the most significant theological truth he ever learned. His answer was, “Jesus loves me. This I know; for the Bible tells me so.” Believe it, Christian. God loves you!

Action To Take

Look for evidences of God’s love for you all throughout the day, and remind yourself often that you are the object of His endless love.
Tell several others during the day that God loves them.
Related Topics: Theology Proper (God)

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Thank you for all that you do. Thank you for being you. We appreciate your existence and the often times silent but impactful role you have played in our lives. As you read the beautiful, beautiful tributes below, know that these can well be the very things that your children (if you have any) and the people you have touched have to say about you; just that they don’t actively articulate these thoughts all the time. For the rest of you, this tribute is get us to actively celebrate our love for our fathers (and mothers) by way of words and actions. Whatever gratitude and love we have for them does not get received if we don’t express them in the first place. Show your dad (and your mom) some love today, tomorrow, and every day. Give him a card. Take him out for dinner. Give him a hug. Share your joy with him. Celebrate the kinship you have together. I present to you, “Why I Love My Father”, by the readers of PE: From Cheryl (New Brunswick, Canada): “What I love about my father, and have only come to appreciate in recent years, is how he simply accepts ‘what is’ in life. He seems to naturally embody “yoga”, which I’ve practiced and taught for many years! No matter what his experiences bring him (e.g. loss, joy, pain), he never comments or complains. Instead, he smiles and asks about your day. Happy Father’s Day, dad – I love you. From Susan: My father carried a laminated quote in his wallet for years. Whenever I got stressed, he would take it out and tell me to read it. About a year before he died, he gave me the card to keep. He said he didn’t need it any more. It said, “Don’t sweat the small stuff. And it’s all small stuff. If you can’t fight, and you can’t flee, flow.” From Giang: I really do not know what to say about my father. Just mean that I love him. He loves us naturally and keeps worrying about us even when we got married and had children. Though he is not rich, he tries to give us some little money as when I was a small girl. I am always his little daughter although I am 32 years old now. Father and Baby From Esin (Istanbul, Turkey): [My father] did all he can do to maintain the best education for me and my elder brother. He worked 7 days a week from 5 am to 8ppm, all day standing up and never lost his joy of life and the humor. Never saw him sick or complaining dramatically. He says “Get to know everything even if you do not apply or use” and “Take care of yourself well so no one suffers becouse of you.” He suffered a lot becouse of my mom’s illnesses. I still have his voice “yabadaba duuuu” coming to play with me when I was 3-4 years old, and he taught me how to read when I was at age of 5. If I have any success in my life this is because I am able to understand thoroughly and well what I read and I owe this speciality first to him. I appreciate him so much, for being in my life. From Charles (Sydney, Australia): Fathers Day is celebrated in September here in Australia. Sadly, my father died in 1975 when I was in my last year of school. When I think about him now, he was a quiet man who enjoyed listening to classical music and opera, enjoyed woodworking and made a desk for me which my daughter is now using. What I loved about him was that he supported my interests and activities (electronics!) as he as was an engineer. I wished I had developed a stronger communication and bond with him in my teenage years – but that is easy to say now that my adolescent years are past. What I remember the most was that he was always there supporting our family and providing a pillar of strength. From Sanjay Kumar Agarwal: In my early childhood, I was frequently surprised when I saw my father struggling for small expenses, which I often used to demand from him. Being a child I was unable to understand his nature as to why he sometimes used to refuse for making some expenses, however small it may be. I could understand the secret when I myself became a father and struggled to manage between ever increasing list of expenses and expectations and my resources to meet the same. When our demands increased, my father started working part time at home. He knew typing and he joined one advocate during evening hours. At late evenings, he used to visit the advocate and do some typing work at this chamber. He used to bring some work even at home and used to work till late night. I often got surprised at his taking pains for some extra money, which at times appeared to be very small amount. But one thing always surprised me. Whenever I asked to buy a book or magazine, he never refused. 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A dream coming true that his sons should become better than himself as far as success in career and earnings is concerned. I was unable to move on my feet. I was ageing about 23 years and rapidly past 23 years flashed into my mind in a moment. I could now understand the meaning of my father’s aspirations. I could understand that whatever decisions my father was taking in past or whatever financial hardships he was facing was determined by his goal of making his children more successful in life than himself. At this place, I could understand the power of goal setting. I could see very clearly the ultimate goal in his mind towards which he thrived for whole of his life and he succeeded. What a father he is! I heartily salute his feelings with thanks & humbleness. If today, I and my brother both are successful in life, this is due to the foresighted goal setting of my father. He never spoke to us on this topic. Probably he was not an authority on the same, but he had the greatness to communicate by example. With heartily thanks to him, I wish him Happy Father’s Day. From Ranjit Chowdhury: Father is a person who Lets you experiment life in your own way and pulls you up when you fall. Lets you get angry on him and loves you more after that. Lets you see things your own way and then gives his view point. Is with you always, Specially when you need him !!! From Sibram Nisonko: My father gave two most precious things for my whole life. One was love with sacrifice; the second was education with spirituality. Father and Son From Jodi (USA): For all the fathers in my life, I love that they are kind. I love that day when I quickly added some explanations to a presentation and they remembered it for being exciting and different and were so proud to show me off to everyone. I love that day when they took me to the store and bought me that toy that I had been eyeing for so long, because they knew how much it meant to me. I love that day when they got the special ingredients we needed to make those treats for class, and patiently stood by and helped me cook. I love that time they took care of my mom. From Julie (Philippines; Now living in Vancouver, Canada) I remember my father when he was still alive, I was in high school he used to carry me from flood barrier just to go to school. He never argue with my mother. He never raised his voice even he’s so mad. I miss him so much that I always remember him during fathers day. He is one of nicest person in this world…its too bad that I didn’t got a chance to show him how much appreciate the value of his personality. From Joseph: No matter what I do or what I say, I know, for a fact, know my dad will be there to support me. From Vania P (Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies) My father has taught me the importance of hard work and sacrifice not by only his words but through HIS examples. As a child I saw him awaking extra early to take care of the animals in our farm and absorbing long hours of traffic to and from work. He would often teach morals by saying ‘a liar is a thief, a thief is a murderer’. This proverb taught me the importance of honesty and has assisted me in decisions and situations I have faced in life so far. I have learned from him that hard work brings rewards and nothing is much worth without sacrifice. I would also like to mention someone who has touched my life in a remarkable way. He embraced me with love and support when I felt the world abandoned me during my trials. His name is Ramsawak Hayban and even though he is in another world, I feel he is still with me guiding and protecting me with his love and care where I am. He has also taught me the power of love and faith. Thank you daddy and thank you Mr. Hayban- may you both be forever blessed with health & happiness. From Julie (France): What I love and appreciate about him is his patience, his manner to listen to others and take them into consideration, his inner strength. From Magdalena: [My father] has a sense of good movies and humor and knows perfectly all the best old time movies. He would sacrifice everything for me. Has great sense of humor, good music and excellent knowledge of old time movies. He isn’t perfect, but he is good and simple and loves me in his own way. Father and Daughter, Kite Flying From Hang (Vietnam): My Dad has always been the one who readily listens to my troubles/concerns and gives me his best advice. But sometimes I think that his advice is irrelevant and ignore his sharing. Despite that, he would still support me and look after me. Thinking about him and his care for me always make me cry a lot, especially when I recall how he used to prepare meals and do housework for me so that I could concentrate on my study. I love him and am grateful for him being my Father. I hope I will soon find out my life purpose and live it fully to make my Dad proud of me. From Krys (Boston, USA): Through his life, and ultimately even his death, my father taught me that no obstacle is too large to overcome if I put my mind to it. On the road of life there are often many ups and downs, but they are part of the journey and experiencing them makes us who we are. In the end, all that matters is doing what we enjoy and sharing our life with the people we love. From Mwansa: The greatest gift dad gave me is, Responsibility of my Thoughts, Attitude and Actions. Told me the seed of greatness in Responsibility. He was a great man. From Wanxuan (Singapore): My father fed and carried me when I was a baby (though my traditional grandpa won’t agree to males doing chores), drove me to school every day during my primary and secondary school years and always brings home some tasty food from outside for our family to share. He also does chores such as ironing, mopping (My mum is lucky hehe). While my mum is a go-getter and sometimes impatient, he is a relaxed sort of parent. It feels good chilling and watching occasional tv with him after finishing major tasks. My family also enjoyed fun activities such as kite-flying and scrabble when I was young. He was never a vocal person and never said “I love you”, even to my mum, but his actions spell love. I’m grateful for having my dad in my life! Father and Daughter Dance From TSK. Raman: Oh! My Father, he was quite an adorable gentleman. He loved our mom and was always faithful to her. He loved us, and had our best in mind always. We were disciplined, yet, he would nudge us to improve, but it never felt motivated by anger… only love. He was quick to forgive. We were taken care of. We did fun stuff and had nice things, but not pampered or spoit because he knew where to draw the line. He was unselfish. He loved his family – his father, mother, educated his brothers and sisters, and got them married too, all from his savings, despite looking after his immediate family which was us. He worked hard at his job not because of the money, but because he believed in what he did. He knew when to quit for the day. He loved eating meals together. He lived within his means. He knew the difference between want and need. He cared about people more than money. He looked for opportunities to serve… especially those who couldn’t help themselves, and was also generous. He was always honest, both to us and to others. I never remember him telling a lie. He knew the importance of keeping his body healthy – not for vain reasons, but to remain effective to this world as long as possible. From Qin Tang, (Minnesota, USA. Originally China): My father is the best handyman I know. My grandfather passed away when my father was still an infant, leaving behind 6 kids and a wife. My father left home at age 10 to make a living for himself. He didn’t have much education, but he learned to do a lot of things. He made all the furniture in our home. He was the Mr. Fix-it in the neighborhood; he could fix anything. Now my father is 80 years old, still healthy and sharp in his mind. He can remember every relative’s phone number and we have a lot of them. I am amazed by his many talents. My father is a man with few words. He shares his love with his acts of service. I love and miss him. Happy Father’s Day from Minnesota to Suzhou! From Naveena: My father is the hero of my life. He taught me how to face the life with patience and brave. Gave me whole freedom in my life. I love him… I am lucky to have him as my father , each and every birth I need him as my father. From Celes, Singapore My father has done more for me than he has ever let on. He has always quietly supported me in my life, in every step of the way. He has always been working hard to support me and the family since I was young, never complaining at any point at all. He has cultivated important values of hard work, humility, and respect (for others) in me. I’m truly, truly, blessed to have a father like him and I love him with all my heart. I would like to be his daughter again in my next life, as well as in all my other lifetimes after that. Happy Father’s Day dad!! ♥ Father and Daughter From Shrikant (Maharashtra, India): My father taught me the realities of life. At times only he was earning he has to work hard as a primary teacher. He used to leave the village at 6.00 AM in the morning and return by 10.00 PM in the night. He travelled daily on bicycle from the village to school which was 7 kms away. He is a great father, and not less than a saint for me. He is an inspiration for us. I learned to move further in tougher times from him. Anything can be achieved with a positive attitude and without harming anybody. He quotes: “Start early, follow ethics, think positive, use sense and do it.” From Luna: My father respects me by granting trust and freedom to me. He let me experience my life by my own way and only comments when it is necessary. He is a romatic, silent man. Thanks, papa. From Alexa Khan: My father taught me to believe in myself. His favorite saying was” Can’t is in the book of fools” and this and many of his sayings have been my own internal motivational soundtrack throughout my life. “Procrastination is the thief of time”; ‘don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do today”; Because of my father I understood from a young age that perseverance and hard work were the keys to everything in life; school, work, relationships. From Caro G: What I love most about my father… where to start? I love that he gave me a fantastic example of how to rise above everything. From a somewhat difficult childhood, not being able to finish high school, he just kept going, kept doing better, and gave his love and attention to everything. He got an associate’s degree, worked a variety of jobs, but I always knew he was there for me. I half-joke I’m still single because I’ll never find a guy who’s as good to me as my Dad. He still works each day (approaching 70) and I know he’s always in my corner. Best. Dad. EVER. From Polycarp Agoi (Kenya, Africa): Honestly my dad is the best dad that God ever made since the creation of the first dad. If dreams come true, he knows how to make them true. I have achived a lot in life because of the wise advice and comfort he has given me. Right now, I’m working on my dreams. My prayer daily is for him to see me become THE PRESIDENT of my country. He has trained me to become one. Thanks Dad. I’d like to end off with this lovely quote image from Personal Excellence Quotes (new images added daily; check it out if you haven’t): “Any man can be a father but it takes someone special to be a dad.” ~ Anne Geddes Happy, happy father’s day to all the dads in the world! :D Images: Father, Baby, Father, Son, Kite flying, Dance, In a plane, Sunset Written by Celes+ on Jun 16, 2014 | Filed in: People, Updates Tags: 2012, family, father, father's day SHARE TWEET

“Why I Love My Father”: A Father’s Day Tribute. Happy Father’s Day To All Father Figures! :) Note from Celes : This is a 2012 tribute post from PE to all fathers around the world, and I’m republishing it to wish all fathers a Happy Father’s Day. To all fathers, may you have the most wonderful time with your family!  Thank you everyone for your  wonderful responses  to the  Father’s Day Tribute .   It was truly very heartwarming for me to read all your beautiful entries surrounding your father and your relationship with him. Today is Father’s Day (for those of you in Asia, that would be yesterday) and I’d like to dedicate this post to  all the wonderful fathers, father figures, and male mentors out there  who have touched the lives of people out there: be it your own kids, others’ kids, your family, people you’ve mentored, people you’ve coached, and the world at large. Thank you for all that you do.  Thank you for bein...