Like a Father...

"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him..." Psalm 103:13

Good morning, dear friends!

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Happiest of Father's Days to all my friends today!  I hope your day is as wonderful as all of you are!

As much as I have blessed in my lifetime to know many godly woman as moms and adopted moms, the same can be said of the men who have influenced my life as father figures.

Of course, there's my dad.  The older I get, the more I appreciate the sacrifices he made for his family.  I appreciate the example he has left in my life as far as being faithful to his role.  It helped me to know what to look for in my own husband.  Of course, I appreciate his wisdom, which you can read about here, in case you missed it the first time around.

Then there are the other men in my lives--now that sounds strange to say--that have had such an impact as well.  My adopted dad Jerry taught me so much as a young Christian, and is still a light for me today.  My father-in-love showed me how to live as a Christian in France.  And there are pastors, grandfathers, uncles, brother-in-loves, that show me how to live in God's family.

Then, there is my husband.  Words fail me when I think about his godly leadership in our own home.  I am truly a blessed woman.  How we all need him in our family!  I am one of those crazy mommas--the words "hot mess" come to mind--and my husband remains the steady voice of reason and sound encouragement that my children need.

As important as all these men are to me, there is just one problem:

None of them are perfect.

Just as there are no perfect mothers, there are no perfect fathers.

It is always sad to me when I hear other people say, "I don't trust God as a Father-figure in my life.  I had a horrible experience with my father growing up."

As sad as this is, it is also completely false.  If I try to judge a perfect God by my imperfect relationship with my earthly father, my view of this relationship will always come short.

If I want to know what a perfect father looks like, I must look at the relationship between God and us as His adopted children.  Then, I will understand what my relationship is supposed to be.

So, then, what are the qualities that make God the perfect Father?

His unconditional love.   Even when I disobeyed God, He loved me anyway. He does not like me more  after my salvation than He did before. God has always loved me with an unchangeable and perfect love. "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5.8)  My sin separated me from God, but when Jesus died on the cross, He accepted me without hesitation into His family. What a wonderful love! "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God!" (I John 3.1)

His provision.  Would I really think of someone as a real father, if he did not care for his own? One of my first thoughts of what makes a real father is someone who lovingly provides for his family's needs.  God has always perfectly fulfilled this responsibility to me.  Jesus reminds me in Matthew 7,11, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them who ask him?"

His compassion. God has a realistic view of us. He knows of what we are capable, and He expects the best of us. At the same time, He knows all about our fallen condition, and He has compassion on us. "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust." (Psalm 103:13-14)

His correction.  God remembers that "we are dust," but this knowledge does not excuse our sins. God still expects His children to live a holy life for Him. Like any good father corrects the insolent or rebellious child, God as the perfect Father, does the same with us.  In Hebrews 12:6, I read, "For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." If God welcomes me as His child, with all the privileges that come from this relationship, I must also expect to be corrected by His hand.

This list is certainly not exhaustive, but this small glimpse reminds me, what a perfect Father I have in God! If I believe that He is too demanding or too distant to be concerned with my problems, perhaps I need to change my perspective on God and who He is. God loves me perfectly in all circumstances, with all compassion, even correcting me when necessary.

May God help me during this Father's Day, to celebrate the best of Fathers, and praise Him for His great fatherly love for me!

Happy Father's Day to all dads this Sunday!  May God bless and help all the dads today, who are in their turn children of God the Perfect Father.