Archived Articles by Father Rob Smith

Of the Father's Love Begotten

One of my very favorite Christmas Carols is the lesser-known hymn "Of the Father's Love Begotten." The first verse reads,

Of the Father's love begotten,
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the source, the ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see,
Evermore and evermore!

Of the Father's love begotten, Jesus is the beginning and the ending, the source all things present, past and yet to come. But it is not just Jesus who is begotten of the Father's love. Our recent Healing Mission with Father Jack Sheffield reminded us strongly in a number of ways that we too are of the Father's love begotten.

Did you know that God knew you before you were born? Did you know that long before your parents met, the God of love was calling you into existence? What the Lord said to Jeremiah, He says to you, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you" (Jer. 1:5 RSV).

Regardless of whether your parents were good or bad, loving or harsh, while you were in the womb your God looked on you and loved you. The Psalmist speaks a deep truth when he says, "Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance; in thy book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them" (Ps. 139:16 RSV). Regardless of the circumstances of your birth and your upbringing you were intended by God. David cried out in his pain, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Ps. 51:5 RSV) Your God loves you and stands ready to redeem not only your present but also all your past.

God says to you, "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jer. 31:3 RSV).

Again God says to you, "You are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you" (Isaiah 43:4 RSV). Father Jack said that statistics show that 80% of us come from dysfunctional families and that he was still looking for the other 20%. The simple truth is that the majority of people have pain somewhere in their backgrounds, but God stands ready to heal and restore. He says, "I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal" (Jer. 30:17 RSV). There is nothing that has ever happened to you that God cannot redeem. Nothing is beyond His reach. Your God loves you with an everlasting love and He calls you to Himself.

~ Father Rob +

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