Few things in life predict a future of success and/or security like having a loving, involved Dad! Being fatherless can make a child insecure and lead to all kinds of self-destructive behaviors; rebellion, crime, and failure to achieve. In an interview on 60 Minutes, Senator Scott Brown (R – Massachusetts) recounted a childhood with several different step-fathers, a lot of abuse, and delinquency. Not having a strong father made him vulnerable in many ways, including being sexually molested by a camp counselor when he was an adolescent. Finding discipline in sports helped Brown turn his life around but the pain of fatherlessness is obviously still a factor in his life even after his successes.
Christians who accept and believe that God is their good Father gain a great blessing. Many who worship and serve the Lord call Him Father, but do not love Him as such, nor do they really trust Him to care for them with a father’s love. They relate to God as a Boss, as a Judge, or as a Source; but not as their ‘Abba.’ (A Biblical word for Daddy) The Word urges us to love our Father in Heaven familiarly, calling Him “Dad” as a beloved child would. "You have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children." (Romans 8:15-16, NLT)
Jesus explains our most basic relationship with God by teaching us to address Him as “Our Father in heaven.” He goes on to tell us of His care. “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him." (Matthew 7:9-11, NLT)
Then, too, the Word reminds us that like a good earthly father, our Father also disciplines us! "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!" (Hebrews 12:7-9, NIV)
Are you scrambling to live self-sufficiently, like a orphan, trying to protect yourself, unable to trust the care of One more powerful?
Were you poorly or sinfully fathered so that it is hard for you to relate to God as “Abba?”
Go again to the Scripture and read of the Father-heart of God. Ask the Spirit to reveal the depth of your Father’s love to you, to help you to grasp that He is not the looming Authority Figure trying to catch you in failure so He can punish you; but rather that He is the Waiting Father, whose grace is amazing, whose mercy is deep and wide, and who acts always for your ultimate good. When that is settled into your heart and mind, you will pray with more faith, live with more peace, and live a holy life that grows from intimate love of the Father.
"Pray like this:
Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need, and
forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one." (Matthew 6:9-13, NLT)
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This is my Father's world,
And to my listening ears;
All nature sings and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world;
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.
This is my Father's world,
O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father's world;
The battle is not done;
Jesus, who died, shall be satisfied,
And earth and heaven be one.
This Is My Father's World
Babcock, Maltbie D. / Sheppard, Franklin
© Public Domain
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