Written By: Jacob Galura | South East Regional Coordinator

Photo by: Reed Burr

One of the things I love most about surfing is watching moms and dads surf with their kids. I remember, on many occasions, surfing with one of my best friends and seeing his son hanging on the nose of his longboard or clinging to his back and watching both of their faces completely full of joy. I like to believe that’s what God’s face looks like when we walk in step with Jesus and step into the life we are called to live in. When we wake up daily and choose to live with purpose and in a posture of surrender, God gets to smile and watch like a dad watching his kid catch their first wave. 

I’ve also gotten to watch friends surf with their grown kids as they go off to college and become their own adults, some sticking close to Jesus and others walking into a prodigal season. No matter what the season looked like, good or difficult, I’ve seen my friends wait patiently for their kids like the father waited for his son in Luke 15. My wife and I are expecting our first child in the next few weeks, and I’ve been spending time with God trying to dive deeper into what being a father looks like. It’s funny, in the Bible there’s really not a whole lot of good examples of good dads, but there is one perfect example. God has modeled what being a father means: guiding, correcting and giving us every opportunity to make the right choices, but never abandoning us when we get it wrong.

I think that’s what stuck with me most. No matter how things go, whether you’re in the best season of your life or at the bottom of the valley, God always shows up to love His kids. His grace never ends, and in our weakness we get to see His unconditional love for us. He was willing to sacrifice His own Son for us. I can’t imagine being able to see another person and then look at my son and be willing to trade him for them. But God did….He gave Jesus up to the world so that we could spend eternity with our heavenly Father. I thank God He did – not just for my family and me, but for everyone who believes and the generations to come. 

John 3:16-17

“For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”