(Isaiah 49:15-16)
I once visited a friend at his home. When I got in, he was sitting on the floor, watching a movie on the TV, his back against the settee, his legs stretched out in front of him.
He had a 4-year-old son who was doing what 4-year-olds do: looking for trouble!
He would run across the living room, jump over his father’s legs to the other side and repeat it, screaming with laughter. Apparently, he was having fun!
His dad watched him as he ran from one end of the living room to the other and said, “if I raise my legs as you jump over them, you will trip, fall down, hit your mouth on the floor and lose your front teeth!”
The tyke looked at his father in the eye and said: “I DARE YOU!”
My friend was shocked, to say the least.
He turned to me: “Harry, did you hear what this boy just said?”
I replied, “Yeah, I heard him- and I DARE you too!”
Now, I am a father too, like my friend and I knew my son could have done and said the same thing.
Why would a son DARE his father like that?
Because he KNOWS his father would NOT want to HURT him! He TRUSTS his father!
If his dad carried out his threat and lifted up his legs as the son jumped over, tripping him and causing him to hit his mouth and lose his front teeth, he would be the one rushing him to the hospital and spending money on medical bills, not the son. He would be the one having to explain to the doctors and everyone else how his son had the accident.
The boy was smart enough to know his father was too logical to carry out the threat, hence the dare.
He TRUSTED his father would not want to hurt him! He KNEW his father loved him too much to harm him! He was COMFORTABLE in his father’s love.
Now, let us look at this scenario in another context: the FATHER is God, you are the son. Do you TRUST Him enough to not want to hurt you? Do you KNOW your Father loves you too much to harm you? Are you comfortable in your Father’s love?
This is where the average Christian has a challenge: Trusting God’s FATHERHOOD over them. They see God as one Hard Taskmaster with a whip in His hand and a frown on His face, waiting to whip them back in line if they stray from the Straight and Narrow. They don’t see God as a LOVING Father.
The irony is, there are so many Scriptures that teach us how loving and caring God is. These are a few:
“You are precious to me, and I have given you a special place of honor. I love you. That’s why I am willing to trade others, to give up whole nations, to save your life.” – Isaiah 43:4
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” -Matthew 7:9-11
Now, why can’t you internalize these Scriptures?
Why can’t you have a paradigm shift in your head?
Why would you rather see God through the prism of, “It is a FEARFUL THING to fall into the hands of the living God.” -Hebrews 10:31 and “For our God is a CONSUMING FIRE.” -Hebrews 12:29?
If Scriptures such as these are what shapes your perception of God, you WILL see Him as that Hard Taskmaster with a whip in His hand and a frown on His face, waiting for you to make a mistake and whip you. You won’t see the Loving Father side of Him- and that is unfortunate.
My favorite Scripture is Isaiah 63:16- “DOUBTLESS THOU ART MY FATHER…”
I see God as MY Father- I personalize it. I have NEVER had an image of Him as the Prefect with a cane.
I think the biggest influence on us concerning fatherhood is how we were brought up as children, how we related with our biological father as kids.
How we see our biological father will always cloud our perception of God.
A friend traveled abroad for a few days and I went to check on his kids in his absence. They asked to speak to their father on my phone and I obliged them: I put a call across to him. His 12-year-old daughter grabbed the phone. “DADDY!” she screamed. She gave him a list of what she wanted him to buy for her.
Her 10-year-old brother took the phone next. “Hello, dad…”
I watched as the kids talked to their father on my phone. They didn’t speak King James’ English. They didn’t look terrified. They didn’t go through any rituals or ceremonies before talking to their father. They were relaxed, lying down, crossing their legs as they spoke to their father. The boy just wore a pair of shorts, he wore no shirt: he knew his dressing didn’t matter!
They placed DEMANDS on their father- they were not concerned if he had the capacity to meet them: they simply TRUSTED he did.
God said in the quoted Scripture above (Isaiah 49: 15-16): “Can a woman forget her nursing child and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely, they may forget, Yet I will NOT forget you! See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me!”
You can choose to believe and focus on this. You CAN choose to believe in and focus on His Love for you: TRUST HIM AS YOUR FATHER!
Shalom,
Haruna Daniels