“I Have a New Father”
The Sermon on the Mount is
the longest recorded speech of Jesus. In that message he has a name for God
which he uses again and again. In just over 100 verses he calls God “Father” 17
times. Who am I? I am a child of my Heavenly Father.
What kind of father is he? As
I wrote this, Christmas wasn’t far off. So I wondered, What should I give my precious
grandchildren? Then it came to me! "I will get a large box and fill it with rattle snakes. Boy, will that surprise them
when they open it on Christmas morning and the snakes jump out and bite them!"
Could anything sound crazier?
Could there be a grandfather in the history of the world who would give such an
awful gift? I hope not. Jesus explained:
Which
of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a
fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good
gifts to those who ask him!
Our Heavenly Father, even
more than our earthly fathers, delights in giving good gifts to his children. He
is our perfect parent who is “faithful in love and care, generous and
thoughtful, interested in all we do, respects our individuality, skillful in
training us, wise in guidance, always available.” Wow! What a Father!
The Biblical concept of adoption
also helps us understand the gracious goodness of our Heavenly Father. In
biblical times people seldom adopted young children. They usually chose young
adults who had shown themselves worthy to carry on the family name. In our
case, however, God adopts us despite the
fact that our character and record show us unworthy of bearing his name. “The
idea of his loving and exalting us sinners sounds ludicrous, ... more like a fairytale – – the reigning
monarch adopts waifs and strays to make princes of them – – but, praise God, it
is not a fairytale: it is hard and solid fact.”
Unfortunately not everyone is included in this heavenly family. Though God’s fatherhood is available to all, it is not experienced by all. We must be born into this heavenly family. John made this clear when he said: 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 dissent, not of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12,13). Thus, we become part of this eternal family “not through being born, but through being born again.”
When we are adopted into this
Family, we aren’t simply a single ant in a colossal anthill. Nor are we a tiny drop
of water in the celestial ocean (as the Hindus believe.) Unbelievably the God
who created an infinite universe has become my attentive and loving Father who
is concerned about the very details of my life.
Your Father is waiting. He
wants to converse with you about the trivial and the eternal issues in your
life. Will you talk with Him? Now?
