Joan E. Mathias' - Gardenjems
  • Gardenjems
  • About
  • Contact

Daddy/Dear Father

6/19/2016

Comments

 
Picture

​Every earthly father has an assignment from heaven.  That assignment is caring for the sons and daughters that God has given them, whether spiritual or of the flesh.  Earthly fathers are to reflect the image of their heavenly Father.  So much so that God even invited His children to use the same word for their earthly fathers as they call Him!
 
For religious Jews in the days of Jesus, hearing someone use the Hebrew word Ab or the Aramaic word Abba—meaning Daddy or Dear Father—for God would have been shocking.  They were too conscious of the holiness of God and the sinfulness of human beings.  Yet Jesus modeled this for them, calling God His Father when He was with them.  Jesus let everyone around Him know that God is a loving, compassionate and generous Father.
 
It is important for earthly fathers to call upon the name of the Lord for help.  Being a father who reflects God's image is no easy task.  Some fail.  However, there is help for those who call upon the name of the Lord as described in Hebrew 4:16.  "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."  All of us would do well to follow this Scripture to receive the grace and wisdom we need in order to walk out the call on our lives.
 
Father God cares so much for us that He sent Jesus as a model of His loving care.  The prayer that Jesus taught His disciples that we still pray today begins with "Our Father in heaven..." (Matthew 6:9)  He also shared the story we call "The Parable of the Prodigal Son" with those who gathered around him—both sinners and self-righteous religious leaders. (The Pharisees)  The father in this story demonstrated the very heart of God and spoke to both the sinners and the Pharisees. (Luke 15:11-32)  The younger son took his inheritance, walked away from life with his father and entered a foreign land where he squandered his wealth.  As he was filling his stomach with pods that pigs were eating "he came to his senses."  Since he felt entirely unworthy to be called a son, he planned to return to his father, beg for forgiveness, and ask to be given a position as a hired man.
 
Meanwhile, the father in the story never forgot his son and watched for him.  As soon as he saw him returning he ran to him.  This uncharacteristic behavior for a Middle Eastern father (lifting your robe to run and thereby exposing your legs) brought disgrace upon him.  However, the loving father humbled himself in order to save his youngest son from the religious community.  This community would have followed the law of Deuteronomy 21:21 and stoned the disgraceful son to death.  The love of this father was demonstrated through his humility and generosity.  He kissed his son, put the best rob upon him, put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  He then killed the fattened calf for a feast to celebrate the return of the lost son.
 
Standing on the outside was the older brother—representing the legalistic religious society.  He identified with being a slave instead of being a son and lacked understanding of the love of his father.  Again, the father's response was one of humility.  He left the celebration for his younger son in order to go to his older one, affirm his love for him, and extend to him undeserved grace.
 
The father in this story represents Father God who gave His very best for His children at the expense of His own dignity.  Truly, our heavenly Abba is a humble, extravagant, grace-filled, loving Father who stops at nothing to give us His best.  He already gave us His best in Jesus Christ, our Savior, and continues “to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine..." (Ephesians 3:20)  He is worthy of our praise and worship and is delighted when we intentionally set aside time to spend with Him.
Comments

    Joan E. Mathias

    Categories

    All
    Authority In Jesus
    Celebrations/Holidays
    Foundation Of Our Nation
    Hebrew Calendar/Celebrations
    Intimacy With God
    Israel/Jewish People
    Kingdom Living
    Music
    Nature
    Revival
    Roots Of Our Christian Faith
    Victory In Christ

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
Photos used under Creative Commons from BPPrice, joncutrer, kennethkonica, NASA Goddard Photo and Video, GollyGforce - Living My Worst Nightmare, ohitzanna, AlicePopkorn2, slgckgc, Chris_Short, homethods, PrincessAshley, Free Public Domain Illustrations by rawpixel, donald judge, Branson Missouri, slgckgc, David A Mitchell, Martin Pettitt, homethods, toptenalternatives, llamnudds, mikecogh, Martin Pettitt, kun0me, mareeshastar, A_Peach, Boris Kukushkin, cantanima, Renaud Camus, Accretion Disc, teofilo, Dushan and Miae, bertknot, Ellemgee Photography, Robert Couse-Baker, Oh Paris, peter.tully64, Patricia Pierce, http://globalquiz.org, *_*, markus spiske, Rob.Bertholf, blondinrikard, archer10 (Dennis), Art4TheGlryOfGod, Arran Bee, James St. John, blumenbiene, Like us on Facebook at CAGuard, Kanguru Adventure, USDAgov, hassage, Vironevaeh, Rick Camacho, Rennett Stowe, Accretion Disc, alexander.parsalidis, Infomastern, Actual Brian Crawford, Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, grongar, pburka, James St. John, daspader, Giuseppe Milo (www.pixael.com), gitsul., Traveller-Reini, slgckgc, xiquinhosilva, Bernt Rostad, EinarMostad, afunkydamsel, byzantiumbooks, drewgstephens, Rod Waddington, BiblioArchives / LibraryArchives, Antonio Calero Garcia, Leimenide, idovermani, Kaarina Dillabough, Janitors, Somuchtwosay, michael_swan, Joey Z1, cristina.sanvito, Wonderlane, cliff1066™, Elekes Andor, Vincent_AF, DonkeyHotey, @jbtaylor, Jason Rosenberg, ian?, Ian W Scott, markbyzewski, cowbite, Infomastern, homegets.com, chrismetcalfTV, wuestenigel, timpeartrice, David Jones, Randy Son Of Robert, jimw7, Art4TheGlryOfGod by Sharon, Rachel-Esther, runneralan2004, hedera.baltica, CaliforniaDFW, spbda, itmpa, Sir, Rony, slgckgc, Boston Public Library, oliver.dodd, slgckgc, barnimages.com, fbaett, Oli-Oviyan, Robert Couse-Baker, hello-julie, blmurch, Lonni.besançon, DPP Business and Tax, Ervins Strauhmanis, Rylee Isitt, kuhnmi, Björn S..., Laurie Nature Bee, samsaundersleeds, Waiting For The Word, Bananenfalter, plantronicsgermany, Mark Wordy, JoanDragonfly, Lodo27, aaron_anderer, x1klima, Photography by Brian Lauer, amseaman, emiliechenphotography, Mangiafazula07, 津山市立図書館 Public Library of Tsuyama, Rob.Bertholf, slgckgc, srqpix, pburka, NASA Goddard Photo and Video, Christine Wagner, Jaykhuang, sonstroem, Sam Howzit, C Jill Reed, John.P.Rairdon, Steenbergs, MyFWC Florida Fish and Wildlife, FotoGuy 49057, Neeta Lind, cattan2011, wuestenigel, D. Scott Taylor, The Travelling Bum, South African Tourism, claydevoute, Skley, Pedro Paulo Palazzo, alexliivet, JIRCAS, pasa47, blumenbiene, *_*, susieq3c, ishaandave1991, Me in ME, slashvee, mutovkin, kcxd, TravelBakerCounty, wuestenigel, Don & Janet Beasley, Schneidersphotography, Panegyrics of Granovetter, Eusebius@Commons, USDAgov, edenpictures, slgckgc, Ninara, Carly & Art, elmetatron, slgckgc, BadSoull, NathalieSt, Humphrey King, Mark Berbezier
  • Gardenjems
  • About
  • Contact