The embrace of the father and son in the image of this post is a familiar, maybe even nostalgically pleasant portrait for many.
But honestly, it’s not for me. I do not know my father. By “know” I mean in a familial, intimate sense.
I met him once in my early 20’s. Besides that he is not much
more familiar to me than a stranger.
For this reason, words such as “Father,” “Dad,” and “Papa” have always felt
drab and foreign. When most of my friends shared an emotional connection with
these paternal titles, for me, they lacked any real sentiment.
Lord, Teach Us To Pray . . .
It wasn't until I began to think deeply about the Lord’s
Prayer that the word “Father” seemed to come to life. When Jesus taught the
disciples how to pray (Matthew 6: 9-13, Luke 11: 2-4) He instructed them to say,
“Our Father . . .” This was a drastic departure from the rabbinic ways of
prayer. “Father” had been used in the Old Testament, but only as a means of
addressing God as the Sovereign Creator or Founder of the nation of Israel. It
was never used in the personal manner in which Jesus used when praying or in
His instructions to pray. Such an emotive, intimate word to use to address the
Creator of the Universe . . .
But it was and is fitting. The language that the Bible uses
to describe God’s love for us is one of a Heavenly Father . . .
. . . God is not a
distant, aloof deity that knows everything that happens in this world, yet does
nothing. Like a loving father that sees children in need, He has adopted us
into His family and we are coheirs with His Son (Rom. 8:17). When in distress,
He encourages us to cry out, “Abba! Father!” (Rom. 8:15) He loves us with an
everlasting love which (unlike human fathers) cannot fail (Eph. 2:8). His love knows
no bounds; it is “as high as the heavens are above the earth” (Ps. 103:11). In
times of fear or despondency He helps us by strengthening us with His
“righteous right hand” (Is. 41:10). Even in our rebellion He showed His love by
giving up His only Son for us all (Rom. 8:32) . . .
A Faithful Father
These aren't the attributes of an inattentive, indifferent,
compassionless deity. These are the qualities of a Father that loves us so much
that when just one lost “sheep” is found, He rejoices and there is jubilation
in heaven. (Lk. 15:3-7)
The word “Father” no longer holds the peculiar feelings that
it did before I became a Christian. Instead, a warm, peaceful feeling envelops
me at the mere thought of Him. The love He has shown me compels me to reflect
His love to everyone I encounter, including my beautiful 4-year old son. I pray
that, as a father, I can give him even a small piece of heaven, but my greater
prayer is that He grows to love the Father who lives in heaven.
“See what kind of love the Father has given us, that we
should be called children of God; and so we are . . .” – 1 John 3:1
God bless, beloved . . .
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