The Heart Matters
#2- The Father Heart of God
I was thinking this week about the fact that none of us would be here without an earthly father. Some of us had awesome dads- we were blessed to have a father in our life that loved us and cared about us. Some had deficient fathers- there are many ways in which a father can let us down and disappoint. Some of us had no father influence at all in our lives.
On this Father’s Day I’d like to take a moment and thank God for all fathers, because without them we wouldn’t be here!
It’s important to remember that promise from Romans 8:28.
Romans 8:28
Good News Translation (GNT)
28 We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.
The GNT puts a different emphasis (which is implied in the original language). All things, like imperfect Earthly Fathers, work for good. In other words- God uses every circumstance, both good and bad, to make us better people!
It has been said that our experience with our earthly father affects our view of God. So, if we were blessed with a kind, loving and supporting father- we might view God in the same way. If we had a harsh, disciplinarian father, we might see God as a distant and difficult to please.
If you had no father at all, the idea of a loving Father God that deeply cares might be a difficult one to comprehend.
Whatever your concept of God may be, let’s try to check our preconceived ideas of God and take a look at what He tells us of himself in his Word.
Let’s first look again at John 3:16-17.
16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
Though I love the picture of the World being held in divine hands, I think Jesus would prefer this image:
We need to personalize this verse! God so loved ME…!
From here we understand God’s Heart to all of humanity. ‘The World’ isn’t referring to the globe we call Earth! This verse smashes geographical and social boundaries. He doesn’t love one nation or continent above another. It’s even a bit of a misnomer to call the Middle East piece of ground the Holy Land. It’s just the location he chose to send Jesus to 2000 years ago.
In the OT, He definitely chose Israel as his own possession, but ultimately, as the Disciple John put it:
John 1:10 NLT
10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.
But the very next verse is pretty much the whole of today’s message:
12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
Belief and acceptance of Christ starts us on the path- I think it’s significant to note that the verse says those two things allow Jesus to give us the ‘right to become’ children of God.
It’s still our choice whether to ‘become’ His children or to 'remain' children of the world. We must choose to walk, live, breathe and act as children of the King! Don't live beneath your rights as God's child and heir!
Later, John picks up this theme in his First epistle:
We ARE the children of God. How fitting that the Word here gives us the explanation as to why being a Christ follower is not acknowledged by the ‘World’:
“The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him”. It’s not part of our ‘birthright’ as believers to be accepted and cherished by the culture of this world.
We are reborn into a different culture -and nature!
Let's see what God's Word calls us:
Romans 8:14-17 NLT
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
This concept of calling us ‘Heirs’ is echoed in Galatians:
Galatians 4:4-7
4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 6 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father. 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.
I just don’t think we really get it!
We joke about what we’d do if we won the lottery or get an inheritance from some long lost rich uncle. Can we just stop for a second and let this statement sink in? “ And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.”
So, you might ask, if I am God’s child and heir, why is my life so hard? Shouldn’t we ‘princes and princesses’ get a better deal? Here’s part of the answer:
Prov 3:11-12
11 My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline,
and don’t be upset when he corrects you.
12 For the Lord corrects those he loves,
just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights
I see two different things here that are part of a Father’s responsibility- discipline and correction.
Discipline is instruction and teaching- as children of God, we need to learn to live like the kings kids.
We become who He intended by growing through the circumstances of our lives!
There was a funny movie with Anne Hathaway called The Princess Diaries where she is discovered to be a distant relative of a Queen and the heir to the throne. The movie is about this ‘princess’ and the things she had to go through to be groomed to replace her aunt someday.
She went from an average American teen to princess to Queen- but it took lots of training.
It's like that with God- we are in the process of becoming like Him through a series of lessons designed specifically for us!
We might better read Proverbs 3:12:
“The Lord teaches and instructs those that He loves…
Since God has created us, loved us, redeemed us, teaches us and calls us his children, what is our response back to Him?
Ephesians 5:1
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
The word here ‘imitators’ literally means to mimic. In the simplest, most practical way, we are to watch what God is doing and has done, and do like he does!
In the same way that children mirror their parents, we are to reflect the Image of Our Father! You might ask what does God look like exactly?
Col 1:15
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation.
Your Heavenly Father 'so loves' YOU!
Let’s give Him the greatest Father’s Day gift that we can! Let’s give Him all of ourselves and pursue a life of imitating Jesus! Amen?
Let’s receive this Benediction:
(A prayer of Blessing- Ephesians 3)
Ephesians 3:14-19 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.
Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Amen!
