Recently, an Atlanta news source reported that a grandfather, Manuel Pinzon, age 78, was playing in the backyard with his twin granddaughters when a large tree branch suddenly cracked and began to fall. Without hesitation, he pushed the girls out of harm’s way, taking the full impact himself. The 8-year-old girls lived. He did not.
There is no diminishing Manuel’s act. It was brave and beautiful. But it was also a glimpse—just a shadow—of a greater reality.
Jesus once said something striking in Luke 11:13:
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give…”
If Manuel—a flawed, earthly man—would lay down his life for his grandchildren, how much more does our perfect Heavenly Father love us?
Our Heavenly Father didn’t just push us out of the way of judgment. He absorbed it.
He didn’t just save His children from a falling branch. Jesus chose to bear the weight of our sin, our shame, our curse—on a tree of His own.
Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
If this man loved his grandchildren enough to give his life, how much more does your Father in heaven love you?
He did not hold back His only Son.
He did not wait until you were worthy.
He gave—and He still gives.
As we celebrate the men who lead, protect, and love their families, may we never look at their sacrifices without remembering the great love of our Heavenly Father and the greatest proof we have of His love — the cross of Jesus Christ.
Wishing you faith,
Roy Ice
