My daughter was born on June 27, 2009. Natalie is my only child and she is going on three years old! It’s amazing how time flies, yet I have cherished most every day. Notice I didn’t say “every” day because inevitably life gets in the way, and less important things too often take precedence.

She is a true blessing to not only me and my wife, but also to my parents who didn’t think they were going to see a grandchild from their youngest son. “Pappa” and “Mimi” have loved their time together with her.

I have unconditional love for my baby girl. There have been times – already – that she has hurt me, albeit in a small way. She has pushed me from her, or at least attempted to, physically. On more than one occasion (ok, about a thousand) she has cried for Mommy and wanted no part of Daddy.

Likewise, she doesn’t always give me the reaction I am seeking. Sometimes she’ll awake in the morning and I fail to get the “good morning, Daddy” that I am yearning for. She doesn’t always want to give me a hug or a kiss. If she is in the wrong type of mood, attempting to give her a hugcan be a futile exercise.

Fortunately, the majority of the time she does do the wonderful things a parent looks for, and it is a true blessing as a father. My wife and I treasure the simple pleasures of being guardians of a precious little child.

However, regardless of what Natalie does or does not do, she has my unconditional love. There is a life lesson in this, at least for this parent.

Some have referred to this as the “Parent-Child Analogy” and it tells us so much more about God’s love for all his children. The Power that created the Universe and beyond has a level of unconditional love for us that we can not even contemplate. It’s unconditional love beyond measure.

We can not lose this unconditional love. It’s always there. Some of us, sadly, never accept it. However, because of the unconditional love, we can always turn back to God. That, of course, is the story of Prodigal Son (found in the Book of Luke, chapter 15, verses 11-32).

If I, like so many other fathers, have unconditional love for my daughter, how much more must God have for each of us? Some of us think that God doesn’t love them due to the way the world is flawed. The world is flawed for one simple reason – we have free will to do good or to do wrong. Sin corrupts the world, which is why it isn’t Heaven.

This world was never meant to be our final place. Why? Because a Father in Heaven loves us more than that. Our eventual destination is somewhere way beyond the only world we know…thanks to unconditional love.