A Tale of Two Fathers
By Lisa Boyer
“There you saw how
the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son….”
Deuteronomy 1:31
I
have a friend who has a wonderful father, a godly father. I’m not sure, but I
think he’s the kind of father every little girl dreams of having. She’s a
“mature adult” and yet, when he looks at her it seems he still sees his
precious little girl; his love for her is obvious. But to me, the proof of a
wonderful father is how a daughter looks at her father, and she looks at him
with such love, admiration and respect. I love watching the two of them,
because, well… my father was just the opposite.
My
parents divorced when I was five and my father moved out of state. I only saw
him a few times a year after that, and those memories aren’t what you’d refer
to as fond. But when I was young, I heard that God was the “Father to the
fatherless.” I knew I was fatherless and
that I needed a father, so I accepted Him with childlike faith and pursued a
relationship with Him, which led me to Jesus.
As
happy as I am for my friend and what she has with her earthly father, I can’t
covet that relationship. I’m sure I missed out on a lot, but what I missed
isn’t nearly as important as what I had. My heavenly Father knew me before I
was born and knew exactly what would bring Him and me together. Even as a child
I was strong-willed, stubborn and self-righteous, so it frightens me to think
of how long I might have avoided acknowledging my need for a Savior had I not acknowledged
my simpler need of Him as my Father while I was so young.
My
friend began her relationship with God at age seven, when she prayed to receive
Christ as Savior, and yet, she too has pursued knowing God as her Father. One
day, I asked her what caused her to want that father/daughter relationship since
she obviously had no need for a father. Without a pause she said, “My dad.”
We
had fathers who were complete opposites, yet because of them, we each developed
a relationship with our heavenly Father through Christ.
GOING DEEPER:
1. Have you been blessed with a wonderful
earthly father? Today, will you take time to thank God for that wonderful
blessing?
2. Have you
let your circumstances get in the way of having a relationship with our
heavenly Father? Will you step back and consider how God may have been trying to
use those circumstances to bring you into a relationship with Him?
FURTHER READING:
Lisa
has been married to Ted for 20 years and they have two teenage sons. Lisa
administers Fresh Start’s Facebook and blog, and loves hanging out with and
impacting teenage girls for Christ.
