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As Father’s Day approaches, we prepare opur hearts to celebrate and challenge our earthly fathers to reflect the character of our Heavenly Father. This means being filled with compassion, strength, faithfulness, and love. Whether our earthly experience was good, painful or absent, we all can find wholeness and hope in the perfect love of God, our Heavenly Father.
When we think of our earthly father,we must realize that they did the best that they could, with what was going on in their lives. They weren’t perfect because there is no perfection this side of Jesus. For those father figures in the example of single moms, neighbors, friends and relatives who helped in a fatherly manner, God placed you there for a reason.
In thinking of some attributes of our heavenly Father that are displayed in our earthly ones, these come to mind: Compassion, Faithfulness, Fatherly Instruction, Provision, and above all Love.
Looking into the scriptures we see the compassion of the father in Luke 15:20 when the father runs to meet his prodigal son. The messsage is this: God’s heart is tender and merciful. Earthly fathers are to be approachable, forgiving and quick to embrace. The faithfulness of God the Father is that he keeps his covenant of love. Earthly fathers shoud be committed to bring security. God is a model of unwavering presence and loyalty.
Godly instruction is found in Proverbs 3:11-12, which tells us that the Lord disciplines those he loves. To our earthly fathers, discipline is not punishment, but loving guidance. Earthly fathers reflect God’s care when they teach and correct with love. Our heavenly Father is Jehovah Jireh, our provider/provision. Matthew 7:9-11 says, “If your earthly fathers give good gifts, how much more will your Father in heaven!” Therefore, our earthly fathers are called to provide not just physically, but spiritually and emotionally as well.
Regardless of the kind of father we had or have been, we are invited into a relationship with the perfect Father in heaven. He has adopted us, He loves us and He calls us his own (Romans 8:15). So, let’s be thankful for all the fathers and father figures that God has placed in our lives. We ask the Lord to heal all of the wounds from absent or broken relationships, and we surrender to the love of our perfect Father in heaven. By doing so, we honor our fathers as we lift our eyes heavenward to our Abba Father, who never fails. To God be all the glory. Amen.
Pastor Andrea (Rev. Andie)
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