We all have a father.
Someone who contributed their DNA, who’s genes make up part of who we are. For some people, that is as far as it goes. They have an “absent father.” For others, their father is a part of their life. He may or may not contribute financially, emotionally, and relationally. Then there are those who have active, loving, and caring fathers who provide for their needs on all of those levels. But even the best father has his flaws, faults, and failings. There isn’t a perfect one.
So, if we got a choice in the matter, we definitely would choose the third father, the one who does his best to be there. We can see the mess the world is in due to the lack of Fathering. There are some pretty ugly statistics about it. So a good father is important. A less than perfect father is far better than an absent father.
God calls Himself our Father.
II Corinthians 6:18 (KJV), “And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
Romans 8:16 (NAS), “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,”
How then, do we see God? Do we see him as that absent father? Or the father who is present in the vaguest sense, one who doesn’t have time for us, fails to provide any security? Do we see him as a loving father that just can’t seem to get it right every time? Are we looking for faults and judging him by what we have seen in our own fathers? Maybe we think he is like our Daddy, who just can’t say “no” to us, and can’t find it in himself to discipline us.
That would be unjust. We would be deceiving ourselves if we allowed ourselves to think He is like our earthly fathers.
Isaiah 55:8 “”My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD.” And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”
He isn’t like our earthly fathers! If our father loves, He is more loving. If our father is wise, He is wiser. God, our Heavenly Father, will always love, always discipline rightly, always be there for us, never leave us, never fail us, never forget us, always put us first, always steer us on the right path, will encourage, and build us up! Sound perfect right? Well He is The Perfect Father.
I know that is so hard for us to imagine, but try! Think about it, meditate on it. Talk about it. If you are a father, try to model it. And if you mess up, apologize and point them to the Perfect Father.
I loved my Dad. He passed away this year. My earthly father had issues, some that came from the issues that his father had. I am thankful for all the good he brought into my life. But if I had to choose…I want a Father like God. God is my Father. I only have one now. Even if your earthly father is still living, you still have a Father who is better. You don’t have to deny one to love the other. You can have both! We love and accept our earthly fathers, but we put our trust, our hope, and our faith in Him who calls Himself our “Abba,” Daddy God.