“Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.” Psalm 27:10
“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.” 1 John 3:1
“My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”
Psalm 139: 15-16
Most of you will remember the television shows “Make Room for Daddy” and “Father Knows Best”, if you are among the “Baby Boomers” generation. These depicted the “ideal” family, according to Hollywood. Yet, I know of no one whose family was like that. Even the actors who portrayed these illusory family characters collectively had real-life problems such as failed marriages, divorce, drug addiction, suicide, alcoholism, and jail. You won’t find any episodes dealing with this. Real life demonstrated what Henry David Thoreau asserted: ”The mass of men (and women) lead lives of quiet desperation.”
C.S.Lewis made the observation, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked with a mere mortal.” The truth of Psalm 139 is true of every one of the 340,366 lives that are born today, as well as the 160,369 who died today. “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”
We have no say as to when we’re born. Neither do we select the place of our birth, nor our parents, nor our genotype. Yet, “See the One who leads forth their [starry] host by number, He calls them all by name…”. (Isa.40: 26). If God knows all the 200 sextillion stars in the universe by name, how much more the 8.2 billion persons on the planet. And God’s Word says if that “if our fathers and mothers forsake us, the Lord will take us up.”
This is true for unwanted pregnancy, for the child conceived by rape, for the neglected child of divorce, for the abused child, and for any of us who are forsaken by our earthly parents.
As a young believer, the Scriptures that got my attention were the Proverbs, which began with “My son,…”. It was as if God had placed His arm around my shoulder, and the Ancient of Days whispered words of wisdom for my life. All the lifetime longing for a father’s acceptance disappeared in an instant. It was as if those words were for me alone. “My son, give attention to my word; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let depart from your sight ; Keep them in the midst of your heart. “For they are life to those who find them And health to all their flesh. Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the issues of life.”(Pro.4: 20-23)
As we gather for communion,” Behold how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. “ Put to rest the resentment, and hurts our earthy parents may have caused us, and forgive them. Your fathers may have been the best of men, but they were only men at best. Yet, there is One who is faithful and vigilantly stands in the shadows, keeping watch over His own.
“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
( 1 John 3: 2)
Questions to Think About
“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.” 1 John 3:1
“My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”
Psalm 139: 15-16
Most of you will remember the television shows “Make Room for Daddy” and “Father Knows Best”, if you are among the “Baby Boomers” generation. These depicted the “ideal” family, according to Hollywood. Yet, I know of no one whose family was like that. Even the actors who portrayed these illusory family characters collectively had real-life problems such as failed marriages, divorce, drug addiction, suicide, alcoholism, and jail. You won’t find any episodes dealing with this. Real life demonstrated what Henry David Thoreau asserted: ”The mass of men (and women) lead lives of quiet desperation.”
C.S.Lewis made the observation, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked with a mere mortal.” The truth of Psalm 139 is true of every one of the 340,366 lives that are born today, as well as the 160,369 who died today. “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”
We have no say as to when we’re born. Neither do we select the place of our birth, nor our parents, nor our genotype. Yet, “See the One who leads forth their [starry] host by number, He calls them all by name…”. (Isa.40: 26). If God knows all the 200 sextillion stars in the universe by name, how much more the 8.2 billion persons on the planet. And God’s Word says if that “if our fathers and mothers forsake us, the Lord will take us up.”
This is true for unwanted pregnancy, for the child conceived by rape, for the neglected child of divorce, for the abused child, and for any of us who are forsaken by our earthly parents.
As a young believer, the Scriptures that got my attention were the Proverbs, which began with “My son,…”. It was as if God had placed His arm around my shoulder, and the Ancient of Days whispered words of wisdom for my life. All the lifetime longing for a father’s acceptance disappeared in an instant. It was as if those words were for me alone. “My son, give attention to my word; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let depart from your sight ; Keep them in the midst of your heart. “For they are life to those who find them And health to all their flesh. Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the issues of life.”(Pro.4: 20-23)
As we gather for communion,” Behold how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. “ Put to rest the resentment, and hurts our earthy parents may have caused us, and forgive them. Your fathers may have been the best of men, but they were only men at best. Yet, there is One who is faithful and vigilantly stands in the shadows, keeping watch over His own.
“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
( 1 John 3: 2)
Questions to Think About
- Do you feel like there is something hindering you from receiving the Father’s love for you?
- Does Romans 2:4 help you to resolve this?
Posted in A Father\'s Love