After the first World War the United States gave vast sums of money to the dislocated orphans of Europe, but they still didn’t have enough money to meet the staggering need. In one of the places where they had set up an orphanage with funds from the states, a man came in leading a little girl. He was very thin, obviously suffering from starvation.

She also showed signs of malnutrition, eyes too large, her little abdomen distended, and her thin little legs and arms too small and too thin for her age. The man led her in and said to the person in charge, “I would like you to take in my little girl.”

The official at the desk asked him if she was his daughter and he said, “Yes.” He asked if the mother had been killed in the war and again the man said, “Yes.” The official then said, “We’re very sorry, but our rule here is that only full orphans can receive any help. If one of the parents is living then we can’t take responsibility, because we just don’t have enough room. There are too many full orphans for us to take a half orphan.”

The father looked down at his little girl, and then he turned and said, "You don’t understand. I’m sick. I was in a German prison during the war. I was half starved, and now I can’t work. I can barely stagger around. I brought her down for you to take care of her.”

And again the official said, “We’re sorry sir, but there’s nothing we can do. That’s the rule. We only care for full orphans.”

The father thought a moment and said, “Are you saying that if I were dead, you’d take care of my little girl, feed her, and she could live and have clothing and a home?”

The official replied, “Well, yes, that’s the rule.”

Then the father reached down and pulled his daughter’s thin little body up to himself and hugged her hard and kissed her. Then he put her hand in the hand of the hand of the man at the desk and told him, “I’ll arrange that,” and then he walked out of the room and committed suicide.

Often, we put "rules" and "restrictions" on God's love that we bestow upon others, according to our own preferences and ideals. But fortunately for us, God does not do the same. "For whoever knocks, the door will be opened."