One hallmark of the millennial generation is that many were raised in homes without fathers. Whether that means the fathers were absent physically or emotionally, my generation has largely been at a loss for godly and strong male leadership in the family. There are numerous statistics chronicling negative trends in youth without fathers. Fathers are vital to society. They are vital to their children and the mothers of their children. And while it has been more common in recent years, fatherlessness is not a new phenomenon. Psalm 68:5 describes God in His holy habitation as father to the fatherless. Regardless if a person has a good earthly father or not, the heavenly Father offers us adoption as sons through Jesus Christ. God the Father and God the Son have a relationship that precedes the foundation of this world. It is a relationship so intimate that Christ tells us if we see Him, we see the Father.
As believers in Jesus Christ we are given the amazing privilege of calling the sovereign, all-knowing, good, just, and perfect God our Father. We are welcomed and adopted as His children, a benefit of salvation that is unspeakably humbling. Before a person accepts the work of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, they are still considered His enemy because of their sin. Yet God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. While the message of God the Father giving His Son may be all too familiar, it is the crux of everything. God the Father had you in mind when He made that decision to send Christ. All of human history leading up to the cross focused on that gift. All of eternity after the cross looks back to and is affected by it. Those who try to worship their god through any other avenue besides Jesus Christ are not one of His. To be Christian is to know God as Father as His Son does.
John’s gospel emphasizes the relationship between Christ and his Father. He cries out to the crowds in John 12:44, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me.” Shortly after that John begins to document the Lord’s Supper and writes that Christ knew His hour had come to return to the Father. In John 13:3 it reads, “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself.” Jesus proceeds to wash the disciples feet, leaving them an example that the one who is sent is not greater than the one who sent him. Although the wrath of God was going to be poured out upon Him shortly after this event, Christ understood His role in the Father’s plan. He knew His place at the right hand of the throne of God was awaiting Him after enduring the cross. He had the utmost confidence and trust in His Father to be poured out as an offering on our behalf.
So with that backdrop, I thank every father reading who has given of himself physically, emotionally, and spiritually to his family. Thank you for loving your children’s mother in a way which demonstrates how Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. Thank you for your patience with your sons and daughters while you bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Your works have eternal value and immediate results in this life. For those children who did not have the privilege of knowing such a father, know that there is a Father in Heaven who calls you to accept the One He sent – Jesus Christ. He can love you perfectly in a way unmatched by even the most admirable earthly father. Run to Him as a son.
\“Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God” (Galatians 4:6).