What About Your Dad?

What about your Dad? You can be grateful if you’ve been fortunate enough to have had a Dad that left a positive memorable impact in your life. Unfortunately, that isn’t true for all of us. If you’re like me your dad was physically and emotionally absent. Perhaps he didn’t affirm you as he could have and never said, “I love you.” We all have heard this before.

In over 41% of American homes fathers are not living with their family. Additionally, 66% of all kids in America will live with only one biological parent by age 16. You’ve probably heard that there is a connection between our earthly fathers and our perception of God. Although our concept of God may have been distorted by our relationship with our father it doesn’t need to define our view of God.

We have a choice between believing what God has said about Himself, or allow our own experience to determine that for us. Regardless of where and how our view of God was developed God is able to reveal Himself to you and me.

Jesus loved to talk about his Dad. It was his favorite subject. He referred to his father over 100 times in the Gospel of John alone. (John 5:19-20:10:15, 28-29; 14:8-9; 17:23, 25). The religious of Jesus’s day are like many today, confused about God the father (John 8:27-29, 38). God is not merely like a father, He is a Father.

The greatest need for everyone, regardless of our parentage, is to know the Father.
”But let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me,” Jeremiah 9:24

When we clearly understand God’s heart and posture towards us, it helps us understand not only who He is, but ourselves as well. It helps us to accurately interpret our world and experience true lasting significance and security.  So let’s look at a few truths about life’s greatest pursuit –knowing the father.

Your father listens to you. (Psalm 91:14-15; Mark 5:33)
Years ago while working in my home office my daughter wanted to talk to me and I told her I was busy studying, but that I was really listening. She put her two little hands around my face and said, “No Daddy, listen to me with your face.” Thankfully, God the Father is never too busy,He listens to you with His full attention.
Your father sees and understands your pain.
“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. Psalm 56:8

Your father pursues you!
Helen of Troy must have been something. Thousands were killed in the battles between Greece and Troy over who would get Helen.


Would it be her husband Menalaus or Paris, Prince of Troy? Few have ever been so pursued. Many have never been pursued or even noticed all their lives. Who has passionately pursued you in the right way?

In one of my favorite adventure movies, The Last of the Mohicans, Nathaniel, raised by the Mohican Indians is in love with Cora, the daughter of a proud British Colonel. In one of the final scenes Cora, Nathaniel and others are trapped behind a waterfall with the rival Indian tribe closing in.

Just before Nathaniel jumps into the massive waterfall to escape he passionately tells Cora, “just stay alive no matter what, do whatever you have to do, no matter where, no matter how long, no matter how far I will find you.” In the climax he relentlessly pursued her and rescued her.

Your heavenly Father is saying that same thing to you - no matter where, no matter how long, no matter how far I will find you. Even if you don’t want to be pursued God relentlessly pursues you. He is the divine romancer. He will not give up or abandon you.

What about you, have you lost sight of one who really loves you? Rest assured He has never lost sight of YOU!  You are the apple of His eye. You are always on His heart. You are constantly on His mind. There is never a moment when you are out of His care.

Greeting card companies hire professional writers and poets to come up with clever impacting words to say “I love you.” Your Divine Father didn’t send a greeting card. He sent His only Son. He didn’t just tell you He loves you He gave everything for YOU! 
Happy Father's Day!

A Better View of Your Heavenly Father

We can be grateful if we’ve been fortunate enough to have had Dads that left a positive and memorable impact in our lives. But, unfortunately, that isn’t true for all of us. Some Dads were physically or emotionally absent or maybe married to their jobs. They didn’t affirm us as they could have or perhaps never said, ‘I love you.’We’ve heard this before.

Today in 41% of U.S. homes fathers are not living with their family. Additionally, 66% of all kids in America will live with only one biological parent by age 16. You’ve probably heard that there is a connection between our earthly fathers and our perception of God.

Although our concept of God may have been distorted by our relationship with our fathers it doesn’t need to define our view of God. 

We have a choice between believing what God has said about Himself or allow our own experiences to determine that for us. Regardless of where and how our view of God was developed God is able to reveal Himself to you and me accurately. Jesus referred to His father over 100 times in the Gospel of John. 

Jesus loved to talk about his father, his favorite subject. But the religious of Jesus’s day were like many today confused about the fatherhood of God. God is not merely like a father, He is a Father.

  

The greatest need for everyone regardless of their parentage is to know the Father.
The prophet Jeremiah said, “Let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me,” ‘Understanding’ is to have correct insight into the nature of a thing. The word ‘know’ is the Hebrew word yada, which is ‘to know intimately.’

When we understand God’s heart and posture towards us it helps us understand not only who He is, but ourselves as well. It helps us to accurately interpret our world and experience true lasting significance and security, preventing a whole lot of wasted religiosity.  Here are a few truths about life’s greatest pursuit - Knowing God.

Your Divine Dad is personal - Hebrews 4:15
He is not a force, a concept or doctrine or a distant monarch. He is not unmoved by our suffering and pain. There was a father and three year old daughter who were grieving the loss of their wife and mom who was killed in a traffic accident. It seemed that all happiness had gone out of their lives and the night after the funeral the father was putting his baby girl to bed when all the lights went out in the house. 

The dad decided to go into the basement to investigate and said to his daughter. “I’ll be right back dear, lie still and I’ll be right back.” She was frightened at the thought of being left alone and begged him to take her with him. He wrapped her in his arms and made his way through the darkened hallway and went down the dark stairwell.

In the basement the little girl hugged his neck tightly and said, “It’s really dark daddy, but I’m not afraid because you’re my daddy.” The dad buried his face in his daughters’ hair and began to weep and said, “I’m not afraid either because my father is with me to.” So even in the midst of the sadness and sorrow the thought of Gods’ loving watch care over them brought light and hope to their darkness.  Hebrews 4:16; I John 5:14

He listens to you. Psalm 91:14-15; Mark 5:33 

One day while working in my home office my daughter wanted to talk to me and I told her I was busy studying, but that I was really listening. She put her two little hands around my face and said, “No Daddy, listen to me with your face.” Thankfully, God the Father listens to you with His full attention.

The Father You Always Wanted

God is Unpleasable

Prior to Martin Luther’s biblical understanding that he was saved by grace the great reformer tried to please his exasperating father throughout his life and took it into his journey with God.  Luther’s sad upbringing along with his performance based religious orientation added to his inner frustration that his best efforts would never please his father or God. (Watch the movie clip here)

Have you felt that your best is never enough? It’s no wonder people don’t want to spend time with people they can’t ever please no matter how hard they try. Do you think God is like that, always disappointed in you? Those who think God is exacting and unpleasable understandably reject Him.

Like Martin Luther, I’ve heard countless people say, “I’m not perfect, I’ll never please God no matter what I do.” But does that mean God is unpleasable? NO!

Truth – God is a gracious FatherMany will do almost anything imaginable to gain someone’s acceptance. We all need acceptance, yet we might not ever get it from those we’ve tried to please. Is there anything we can do to gain God’s acceptance? No! Absolutely nothing!

An attorney asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus simply replied, “Believe on Me whom the father has sent.” Nothing, but faith, only faith, ‘sola-fide.’

Thankfully, Luther discovered that his relationship with God was rooted in God’s grace and not all his hard work. This revelation not only changed him, but the whole world. God graciously gives us what we need and not what we deserve. He gives us what we all desperately need –GRACE through His Son!

Would it shock you to know that God is not disappointed in you? How could that be? I know I disappoint myself and others. Most of the time disappointment comes from something that happens to us that we didn’t expect. In contrast, God already knows all your stuff in your life, your choices and your sins. He’s definitely not surprised at anything.

No one scores a 100. Nobody is perfect. No one has arrived. We all fall so short of God’s best, but God had a redemptive plan in sending His Son. He knows what we really need is a relationship with Him that is based on forgiveness through undeserved abundant grace.

But now God has shown us a different way to heaven—not by “being good enough” and trying to keep his laws, but by a new way (though not new, really, for the Scriptures told about it long ago). Now God says he will accept and acquit us—declare us “not guilty”—if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like.   Romans 3:22 (LB)

God wants a relationship with you and me. He has done all that is needed by sending his Son for our redemption. There is nothing else for us to do for our acceptance –it’s already DONE! It’s finished!

Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own, through what Christ would do for us. Ephesians 1:4 LB
 
Maybe you grew up with a hurtful father who was uncaring, unavailable, unreliable and unpleasable. If that is your experience I’m sorry for that, but

God can be the father you never had!As a father God knows that there is far more to being a father than creating a child. God will never lie to you, never abuse you, never get tired of you, never neglect you, never leave you or never ever not care for you! He will always love you and only wants what’s best for you.

God can be the father you never had. Let him father you. When you develop your relationship with your heavenly father through His word it will change your life and those around you.

Your Father loves you,