MARGIES BIMS

FATHER ISSUES - HEBREWS 12:9-10*********

SOME OF US HAVE A HARD TIME RELATING TO GOD THE FATHER. WE SING TO THE SON, PRAY TO THE SON, AND ASK OURSELVES, "WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?" BUT WHEN JESUS TALKS ABOUT HIS FATHER, HE TOUCHES ISSUES THAT MAY BE AFFECTING US MORE THAN WE REALIZE.

MAYBE OUR PROBLEM IS THAT HIS FATHER DOESN'T ANSWER OUR PRAYERS AS WE WANT HIM TO. OR WE THINK OF HIM IN TERMS OF THE HUMAN FATHERS WE HAVE KNOWN.

MANY OF US HAVE NEVER EVEN HEARD OUR BIOLOGICAL FATHER SAY, "I LOVE YOU." SOME HAVE INHERITED A LEGACY OF ABANDONMENT, ADDICTION, AND EVEN ABUSE. OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN ALWAYS KNOWS HOW TO CORRECT US FOR OUR OWN GOOD (HEBREWS 12:9-10)

IN A DAY WHEN SO MANY OF US LONG FOR A RETURN TO FAMILY VALUES, IT IS DISAPPOINTING TO DISCOVER THAT A GOOD DAD IS HARD TO FIND IN THE BIBLE. BUT MAYBE THIS IS A DISAPPOINTMENT THAT CAN WORK IN OUR FAVOR.

SCRIPTURE DOESN'T TELL US MUCH ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JESUS AND JOSEPH, THE MAN WHO MARRIED JESUS' MOTHER AND RAISED JESUS AS HIS SON. INSTEAD, EVEN AT THE AGE OF 12, JESUS IS FOUND RELATING TO HIS ETERNAL FATHER.
HE SAID, "HE WHO HAS SEEN ME HAS SEEN THE FATHER"

BUT WHERE DID WE GET THE IDEA THAT OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN SHOULD FOLLOW THE SCRIPT WE WRITE FOR HIM? IF JESUS WAS LIKE HIS FATHER, THEN BOTH ARE AS UNPREDICTABLE IN ACTION AS THEY ARE UNCHANGING IN CHARACTER. JESUS DIDN'T TELL HIS DISCIPLE WHAT THEY WANTED TO HEAR. HE DIDN'T USE HIS STRENGTH TO DO EVERYTHING THEY WANTED HIM TO DO. HE HAD PLANS THEY COULDN'T UNDERSTAND. YET, IN THE END, IN SPITE OF ALL OF THIS UNPREDICTABILITY, JESUS REVEALED A FATHER WHO GAVE THEM MORE THAN THEY COULD HAVE HOPED FOR.

THIS FATHER WHO REVEALED HIMSELF THROUGH JESUS IS NOT LIKE THE DADS WHO LET US FEEL THEIR BICEPS, LIFTED US TO THEIR SHOULDERS, AND SHOWED UP TO SUPPORT US AT SCHOOL EVENTS. BUT HE IS ALSO NOT THE PROBLEM AND MYSTERY SOME OF US THINK HE IS. JESUS IS JUST LIKE HIM, AND HE IS JUST LIKE JESUS.

AND SO WE PRAY:
FATHER IN HEAVEN, WE NEED TO GET PAST THE ISSUES WITH OUR OWN FATHERS THAT HAVE CLOUDED OUR TRUST IN YOU. WHILE THERE IS SO MUCH ABOUT YOU THAT WE DON'T UNDERSTAND, PLEASE HELP US TO SEE ALL THAT YOU WANT US TO SEE ABOUT YOURSELF IN THE WALK AND IN THE WORDS OF YOUR SON.

I HOPE YOU'LL JOIN ME IN THINKING ABOUT THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD IN A WAY THAT WILL REMOVE SOME OF THE FATHER ISSUES THAT WE ALL STRUGGLE WITH. HOPE TO SEE YOU NEXT TIME.

HAVE A HAPPY, BLESSED DAY*************
BIBLICAL INFORMATION MINISTRIES - BIMS