I have to admit, I’ve known this guy for a little while. He’s not someone I just met or had a random conversation with, but he’s been around a little bit longer than that. He’s my dad and it’s his birthday. This may be a little delayed but with all the catch-up dates, I wanted to try and time it perfectly. A couple of weeks ago, one of the readers here asked me to do a blog on God as a father. Not just the Father and his role in the Trinity, but more like God as a dad. Since that e-mail, I feel like I’ve been seeing God as a dad more and more each day. I read through the parable of the Prodigal Son again this morning, and I just can’t read it enough. There’s your homework, Luke 15:11-32.
As I’ve traveled and met people and heard their stories, my heart breaks to hear their pasts, but I feel so blessed with my life. I hear so many statistics and studies about absent fathers and how our world is coping with that, but the issues I’ve heard about the most are “daddy issues”. My dad left. I never met my dad. My dad was physically or emotionally abusive. My heart breaks to hear these stories. Throughout the Bible, God is referred to as the Father, so there’s no surprise that Satan would try to attack that with full force. He causes men to flee and take things out on their kids. Meanwhile, an entire generation is growing up with either a distorted view of “daddy” or a non-existent one. How do you minister to someone and tell them God is a good dad when they have no idea what a good dad is?
This has been my study for the month and a little preview of what I’ll write about at the end of the month When I hear people’s stories about their daddy issues, there are times that I feel bad that I can’t relate. I’ve never experienced an absent father. My dad came to all my athletic events and school functions. I’ve never experienced an abusive father. In fact, I’ve never felt so supported by someone. I’ve never had to search for my father because he’s always been there. So when I hear that God will never leave me or forsake me, I have a good picture of what that looks like. And as much as my dad loves me and wants to be there, his love pales in comparison to God’s. That’s hard for me to imagine.
When I think about provision and how my dad has done that for our family, I can’t help but think about sacrifice and service. I can actually have a decent picture of what sacrifice and service look like because of the way my dad has provided. We didn’t have a ton growing up, but I never needed anything. My dad worked three jobs when he needed to. He got up early to drive the bus to school, taught all day, and then tutored the students at night. You know what else? I don’t think I ever saw him buy something for himself until my freshman year of college when his dad died. It was never really about what he could get.
I know that my dad is human and has his faults and shortcomings (no pun intended, sorry I can’t be 100% serious). But he’s given me a great picture of a father’s love. In a world and culture where dads tend to do more harm that good, I consider myself blessed. Happy Birthday Dad…
