The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"My Father and Your Father"
My father passed away when I was two years old. My mother reared me, making countless sacrifices for my well being, and being more than I could ever ask for as a loving and devoted parent for whom I could never give enough thanks.
This being true, I still missed having a father during my childhood. When I became a born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, I therefore first experienced what it means to have a father, in this case, the greatest of all patriarchs - "Our Father, which art in Heaven" (Matthew 6:9). This initiated the discovery of fatherhood and what it means, albeit in spiritual rather than earthly terms. Through the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, fellow believers, personal experience, and being a father myself, many truths about God's perfect way in this most vital role have blessed my heart and mind. One, however, stands out, and interestingly, has nothing to do with either myself or any other earthly father.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).
The greatest truth of fatherhood involves the eternal reality that God has always been a Father, and has always had a Son.
"From everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God" (Psalm 90:2).
"I am the Lord. I change not" (Malachi 3:6).
"These words spake Jesus, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, Father…Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:1; 24).
Truth always begins with the God who is truth, and always with the Christ who serves as the central theme and determination of the Father's "eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (John 14:6; Ephesians 3:11). Thus, to know fatherhood in its truest meaning, we look to the Heavenly Father and His Son, as revealed by the Holy Spirit. This leads us primarily to the Gospels, wherein Scripture provides many accounts of the Father and Son's relationship and fellowship with one another (although we certainly see the truth revealed throughout both Old Testament and New). How do we see the Father relating to the Son in the pages of the Bible? How did the Son respond? Primary light shines upon us as we behold the beauty of such Parental and Filial devotion. The Apostles John and Paul confirm this truth of grace in their dual declaration of a gift we may not consider often enough…
"I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them" (John 17:26).
"The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us… God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father" (Romans 5:5; Galatians 4:6).
First, the Lord Jesus prayed that the love of the Father might descend upon us and dwell within us. Then He suffered, died, rose again, and ascended to Heaven to make possible provision of the gift to all who believe. "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name" (John 1:12). Thereby, we become part of "the whole family of Heaven and earth" no less than the Lord Jesus (Ephesians 3:15). Knowing the truest meaning of fatherhood therefore directs us to God's fathering of the Son who made possible our being birthed into family relationship with Him. "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever" (I Peter 1:23).
Think of this when pondering the Gospels, or any other passage of Scripture wherein the fellowship of the Father and the Son shines forth. To know how God relates to us as sons and daughters in Christ, we look to how He relates to Christ. The Lord Jesus prayed for such a gift to be bestowed upon us, and suffered the wrath of God to be bestowed upon Himself on the cross to purchase such grace. Thereby, He can and would say to us as He said to Mary Magdalene after He rose from the dead…
"My Father and your Father."
(John 20:17)
Weekly Memory Verse
That which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
(Luke 16:15)
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