A few minutes ago my son ran
up to me in his Spiderman pajamas with the crusty signs of a good night sleep
still evident in his eyes. He crawled up on my lap; snuggled into my embracing
arms and said in his morning voice, “I love you daddy, Happy Fathers Day!” I
actually forgot about the holiday, but I thanked him for the reminder and
kissed his head—pressing my cheek against him and snuggled him in my arms. Oh,
how good that feels! As a parent of two teenage daughters, I know how quickly
time passes by and I try to treasure every opportunity I can before this “season
of snuggle time” is gone forever.
On days like today, I become
reflective of this journey called “fatherhood” and I am reminded how often the
Bible talks about our relationship to God like that of a “father and child.” We are reminded in 1 John 3:1, “How
great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called
children of God! And that is what we are!” His fatherly love is also expressed
through the Holy Spirit. In Luke 11:13, Jesus says, “If you then, though you
are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your
Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
For many of us, this can be
a challenging concept to grasp in light of our own experiences with our earthly
fathers. Although I have many wonderful childhood memories, much of my
relationship with my own father was infused with more anger than affection,
more “whoopins” than hugs and more belittling than affirmation. For many years
this tainted my perception of a loving Heavenly Father and clouded my reading
of the Bible. I usually saw God as an authoritative figure that was constantly
disappointed with me—looking for me to fail so He could wield His justice and
deliver a well-deserved consequence for my transgression. I could only perceive a Heavenly Father
that was angry, vengeful, mean and impatient. At times I would pray for
forgiveness and manufacture God speaking back to me in a demeaning voice that
berated me for my pour decisions and called me names for being so foolish. What
a skewed understanding of the Creator!
Don’t misread my view of the
Heavenly Father (or of parenting)… I know that a parental love should be
expressed in discipline as well as hugs and a Father’s love can be as firm as
it is gentle (Hebrews 12 & Proverbs 12,13, and 28). But at the center of God’s discipline (and
hopefully mine) is the passionate and undying love He has for His children.
You are loved deeply by the
Creator and He longs to manifest His unfiltered, unstoppable, sustaining fatherly
love to you through Jesus Christ. As you reflect with me on the love of the
Heavenly Father, remember these words about Jesus Christ found in John 1:12-13:
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the
right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of
human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.”
Maybe this video entitled “the Fathers love Letter” will help remind you of the most vital relationship of all and I pray every day this year will be a happy Fathers Day for you!
oh garrick you are right wat ever you said about father's lav for us.recently in may this year ma father fel sick,remember i told you i grew up hating ma dad but wen i encountered with christ ma life changed in 2009 for that i started developing that lav for him.but let me say in may is wen i was touched to see ma dad in the hospital i remembered the toil he has toiled for me and yet i was helpless the only thing i could was to cry looking at his condition.i could not concetrate in schol,then i talked to paster ken about it he prayed with me he told about his life experience the word of encouraged me,he also told at this time at least show lav to ma dad.iw ent with pastor ken to the hospital,we prayed together and icontinued visting him every day.he recovered after one month that was in july.But do you know wat hurt most bse am in the university ,i have just recently came to reality that ma dad loves he has been toiling for me to pay ma school fees ,now that amto show him ma love his fals sick .i was scared he was going to die but give back GOD the glory taht ma dad has the strengh though he is HIV postive but ma prayer is that GOD MAY GIVE him more days especial that he give his life to christ.....garrick its like i have talked much yet i have more for especialy about GOD'S LOVE for me this semester HIS love has been great for wen i think about it i rol tears of joy i have tested of love ,goodness,mercy and i wil always boast in HIM.THANK YOU GARRICK FOR BEING MA FRIEND i wil tell you more next tie.
Posted by: akol sylvia | October 14, 2010 at 12:12 AM
I trust you experience the Heavenly Fathers love in a very special way during this time of challenge! i pray for you and your family today! It is a privilege to be your friend!
Posted by: John | October 14, 2010 at 05:14 AM