Jesus came to restore us to a right relationship with Abba Father. You might say that was his end game for us, in order to bring his Father much glory and honor.
By turning our hearts back toward Abba Father, he made it possible for earthly Dads and their children to be in right relationship, too.
Having a proper relationship exist between father and son or father and daughter is a source of blessing. The absence of the father – child connection opens the door to many negative consequences.
“Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD arrives. 6 His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.” Malachi 4:5-6 (NLT)
Much of the trouble we see in our nation and around the world originated in the break of the relationship between fathers and their children, which ultimately goes back to the absence of a relationship between human dads and Abba. When we get the Abba-human dad relationship right, the other can more easily follow.
Fathers who have been reconciled to Abba can help their own children grow up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:1-4 (ESV)A father’s joy is seeing his children do well.
Solomon said that a wise son makes a glad father. (Proverbs 10:1) Conversely, having a fool for a son or daughter is a heavy load for any parent to bear. Ultimately, our children must make their own way in life. A parent’s role is to give them the love, affirmation, blessings, and other tools they will need to succeed, but children must make their own choices.
Perfect parenting does not guarantee perfect results. Neither does poor parenting guarantee that children will fail.
Where dads miss the mark, our heavenly Abba can supply what is missing. Where dads hurt their children, Abba can bring healing. Where parents did their best, but kids nevertheless went down a wrong path, Abba can bring comfort to the parents and correction to the children. Where parents realize they failed, there is forgiveness and hope for the future. We do our best, hopefully, but all of us make plenty of mistakes as a parent and as a child.
For those of us who do not have our own natural children, there are lots of opportunities to be a “father” to those who are natural or spiritual orphans.
Adoption is one of the important themes of the Bible. Moses was adopted. So was Jesus. Every born again follower of Christ is God’s child through adoption. For those of us whose children are now grown, we can now invest in however many others God brings our way, who need a fatherly touch.
One day we will receive the reward for our labors, but even now we can rejoice as we watch our proteges successfully navigate life using the skills and blessings we passed on to them.
A father’s reward comes from pouring out his life into his children and watching them succeed and go farther than he ever did.
The blessing continues as we watch our children pass the blessing forward to their own offspring. And when we ultimately stand before God’s throne at the judgment, we will hear him say, “Well done!” Hallelujah!
After all, what gives us hope and joy, and what will be our proud reward and crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is you! 20 Yes, you are our pride and joy. 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 (NLT)
