The Love of the Father
In discussion of The Love of the Father, it seems reasonable that one of three reactions might come to the surface: 1) Fond recollection and bold empowerment, 2) Anger and resentment from mistreatment or absence, 3) Indifference due to the walls built around the heart. Our father is responsible for the paternal role in our life. Paternal comes from the Latin pater, which means “father” and is where we get the word pattern, from the Latin word patronus, which means “protector”. They all share the same root system. The father builds the foundation that all specificity is derived from. Without that firm foundation, we are build on a foundation of sand.
The Disconnect from the Father
The world we live in today, at least in the Western World, is a world that is largely disconnected from the Love of the Father. When I speak of fatherhood, I mean the pattern as it unfolds on every level, starting with our Father in heaven, and grounding itself in our biological father who carried on the passing of his seed. Much work has been done to obscure the loving provision of our Father in heaven, with cheap counterfeit sources of provision presenting themselves in His stead. Addictions, gluttonous indulgences, quick pleasure, positions in power, promises of wealth, and gorgeous fantastical escapes have opened their arms to the world and whispered the lie “I am enough. You can find your hope in me. You will find your love in me.” The disconnect from the Father comes from placing our trust and our hope in that which deviates from the pattern our Father in heaven set in motion. Divorce, neglect, abandonment and abuse in many cases have painted new images of what a father looks like to the children who were raised in that father’s presence. One of the most painfully haunting, yet beautiful, moments in all of history is Jesus crying out to His Father in heaven “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” This cry showed the true embodiment of His life as Son, and serves as the ultimate example of the level Christ went to in order to show us the Love of the Father when all seems hopeless and when we seem most abandoned. The very next thing Jesus does is drink, and before yielding his Spirit, speaks my favorite sentence ever uttered, “It is finished.”
“It is Finished – “τετέλεσται” (Tetelestai)”
Are you a performer? Do you live your life performing and trying to earn love in your life? Do you live as though love comes as a condition of your efforts and provision, or do you live as though you are already loved, and that the highest sacrifice, the highest honor and work in the world has already been achieved? It is finished… brothers and sisters. Christ is risen! Hallelujah to the Lamb of God! Do you understand the pattern from which you were birthed into this world? In the beginning, when God creates the heavens and the earth, he hovered over the face of the waters and spoke “Let there be light.” Let there be Light, when all seems dark and void. Let there be Love, when all seems hopeless and we are abandoned. Let there be a promise, that our Father who created us and established within us the pattern of his creation will not hurt us in the way the world hurts us. Where once we fell from the pattern of Adam’s transgression, we are given a great promise of hope, to return to our true pattern through the obedience and Love of the Father, as exemplified and carried out to perfection in the life of His son, Jesus Christ.
The Rejection Mindset
If faith is substance of things hoped for, and evidence of things not seen [Hebrews 11:1] then fear may appropriately be seen as the substance of things unhoped for. Our fears stem from a rejection-based mindset that repeats lie after lie, trying to tie our identity into perfect performance, rather than humble submission. If we are unsure of our identity and unsure of the Love of the Father, then a multitude of paths are set before our eyes, and we have no foundation to walk upon, no protector to save us if the powers of darkness should attack. Before Jesus’ ministry begins, he is baptized and in the Third Chapter from the Book of Matthew we read in verses 16 and 17: 16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and [b]He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The Father announces to the world His love for the Son., affirming Jesus’ identity as the beloved Son of God. There is no greater comfort than the Love of the Father which affirms your identity and reassures you of His protection. Though we may walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we shall fear no evil, for Our Father in Heaven is with us. He is the Good Shepherd that leads the way down the narrow path that leads to life. He is the Word that speaks creation into being and sustains it. He is the Light that illuminates all that is good, and reveals those who reject that goodness as blind.
You are creation of a Father who loves you dearly. Even if your earthly father, your teachers, your coaches, mentors, bosses, priests or role models in this world have let you down, your Father in Heaven is watching over you. He has given you an identity as a son or daughter, to those who love him, and are reborn into His love. With such a love as this, what power can stand against you? I leave you once more with a reading from scripture. I hope you find loving reassurance in the words of wisdom. Romans 8:38-39 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
