The Absent Father

"It is a well known fact which has been proven statistically that the role of the father is severely lacking in the American family."

The absence of the father figure has accounted for many of the destructive lifestyles we see among our youth, the prison population, and troubled individuals throughout our world. This newsletter is dedicated to the countless thousands, even millions, of individuals who "have no father; whose fathers are absent or unable to fulfill their role in the family; and to those who are blessed with good fathers – in the hope that they will come to know God as Father while entering a joyful, fulfilling relationship with Him".

Through an act of nature known as fertilization, a new life is formed. This life is brought about by the union of a mother and a father, and possesses a sinful nature.

Through an act if grace, this new life (which possessed this sinful nature) is totally redeemed, exonerated, set free by an act of divine intervention (namely the shed blood of Christ). How then did this process of "redemption" take place? Through a legal process, brought on by Adam’s sin, we were found guilty and sentenced to the death penalty. Jesus, acting as our lead counsel, submitted evidence (His own body on a tree), which acquitted us. "All of us used to live that way, following the passions and desires of our evil nature… But God is so rich in mercy that while we were dead because of sin, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead" Ephesians 2:3,4.

To become our Father, God had to do more than just pay the penalty for our sin by offering His only begotten. He had to so something about our sinful nature. David declared, "In sin did my mother conceive me". To become children of God, we must possess His nature. E must think and behave just as He does. This concept may be difficult for conventional wisdom to comprehend, but when Jesus died, our "old man" (sin nature) died also, and was buried with Him. By becoming "sin" for us, we became the righteousness of God (took on our Father’s traits). "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (new creation), old things (our old nature) are passed away." All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to Himself through what Christ did" 2 Corinthians 5: 17-18 (KJV, NLT).

Does this transformation occur overnight? How d we become like our Father? In Romans 12:2, the Apostle Paul makes a passionate plea to the believer, giving us a method whereby we can become like God. "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of the world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what the Father wants you to do" (NLT).

Knowing God as Father is vital to the believer. Just as an earthly father loves and cares for his children, God wants us to know Him in a personal and intimate way. Throughout the scriptures, God emphasizes that what He desires most is for His children to know Him. In the book of Hosea, the prophet pleads for us "to press on to know the Lord" (see Hosea 6:3).

He also used that same prophet (Hosea) to let it be known that He preferred for His people to seek to know Him then to spend their lives in sacrificial service to Him. "For I delight in loyalty and devotion rather than sacrifice and in the knowledge of God (knowing Him intimately) rather than burnt offerings" Hosea 6:6 KJV.

Your heavenly Father loves you unconditionally, no matter what. He is an attentive Daddy who is always willing to listen and encourage you. He doesn’t keep a record of your failures, only your victories. He knows the questions of your heart and your soul’s deepest needs. He is a never-ending source of life, hope, protection and provision. He is your great and mighty deliverer.

You, on the other hand, are His beloved children. You are an amazing work in progress. Oh how He longs to help you and protect you. He desires for you to live in a way that brings honor to His Name. Love everybody; Live in unity and harmony; Be humble and forgiving; Put others before yourself. As you do these things, you will begin to see Him more clearly as your Father, and His life will be miraculously expressed through you (His child).