“Our Father……….” What an IMPACT!

It is not uncommon to find people who are lost and in search of meaning and direction in life. It is also not uncommon for such people to find exciting meaning and direction in life when they experience God as their “Father” in a new way.It was Jesus Christ who promoted relationship with God as “Father”, particularly through the prayer that came to be known as the “Lord’s Prayer” (since it came to us from the Lord – Jesus Christ). 2,000 years ago the Jewish people thought that God should be revered by being made unapproachable. They decided not to call God by His name but to identify Him by the four lettertetrogram, YHWH. It was even considered blasphemous to call God by a name.When Jesus came on the scene and spoke freely of God as “Father”, He not only threw aside religious superstition, but also connected people to God as a loving and gracious resource with special interest in their lives.The Lord’s Prayer starts with “Our Father, who is in Heaven…” By that prayer Jesus taught people to approach God as their Heavenly Father.So it is that when people encounter God and discover Him as their Heavenly Father, they often find meaning, direction, fulfillment, confidence and wholeness which they did not know before. This is the Impact of having a Father!!!So take a moment and think about the implications of all this. When people who feel an absence of the ministry of a loving father in their life find God as their Heavenly Father they come to levels of completion, direction, meaning and so on, which they previously longed for. What does that say about the value of having a “father” in your life? Doesn’t it clearly indicate that each one of us would be enriched and impacted if we could all enjoy a higher level of fathering in our lives?Praise God that He is a “father to the fatherless” (Psalm 68:5). When the level of fathering we experience is deficient, we are as one who is “fatherless” in the affected areas. So God can then be a “father” to us in the areas where we are “fatherless”. God is able to meet each one of us and bring incredible ministry into our lives, whether we are a genuine orphan or have grown up in a loving home.Yet, recognize also that it is FATHERING that makes the difference!! This is a significant observation for all fathers and men to note. The role of fathers in the lives of their children is so valuable that God Himself takes it up if the fathers have failed.This article is called “Our Father” What an Impact! ….. because I want you to recognize the vital importance, the IMPACT, of “fathering”. Wives need to realize the desperate need for their children to have the ministry of a “father”. This comes both from the child’s natural father and also through God making up the deficits left by a man who does not rise to his calling. A double dose of “mother” does not replace the “father”.I need to insert here that a step-father or adoptive father can most certainly provide the input of a “father” in a child’s life. How can I say that? Because God, as our Heavenly Father, ADOPTS US into His Family. We are His “adopted” children, and yet His Fathering in our lives is the VERY BEST FATHERING we could ever get.So don’t get distracted by the hopelessness of the absent biological father. Just choose to value the wonderful provision of “fathering” which God upholds by His own example.

And remember, you don’t have to go chasing after a man to fill the fathering need in your child’s life. God is the very best father and so your children need to be introduced to Him, as their loving Heavenly Father, who is vastly better than all the other fathers on earth put together.

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