Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
In our day, there seems to be a plague of fatherlessness. Metaphoric and literal orphans run through our societies, missing the touch of a father. In the familial structure God designed, the father of the home lead the family with conviction, love, humility, and service. The father called out gifting in his children before they even saw them. The father spoke identity into them, recognizing the strength, power, and purpose that God placed inside of his children. This has been lost.
The loss of fathers and the purpose of fathers in our society is not a simple reflection of human failure, but it’s the fruit of the kingdom of darkness. The kingdom of satan is a kingdom of fatherlessness. When satan decided to be like God, satan left God the father in an effort to define himself as something other than what God called him and designed him to be. We see this pattern as a part of the growing kingdom of darkness in our world. We see people mimicking satan and taking his bate to reject the Father and choose identity outside of who God says that He made them to be. Bringing this truth to light is not to shame or villainize fathers, but to recognize that there is more at work than meets the eye.
Matthew 13:43 is one of the only places that we see the Kingdom of Heaven attached to the Father.* It tells us that in the Kingdom of Heaven, we live under the rule of the Father. This rule of the Father is not harsh or authoritative, but it’s loving and welcoming and protecting.
To live in the Kingdom of Heaven, and to see His Kingdom come and His will to be done, we must receive God as Father, thus allowing Him to define who we are, call out our gifting, and point us toward our purpose.
God desires this for all. God desires that everyone who has ears would hear this truth. God desires that all people shine like the stars out of the righteousness gifted to them by Jesus. We do not shine because of our efforts. Our efforts look a lot like the broken fathers that we have known or that we ourselves reflect. We shine when Jesus shines in and through us. His righteousness makes us glow.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to receive God as Father. Perhaps today is the day to forgive your broken father. Maybe God wants you to break the cycle of the fatherless kingdom of darkness by embracing the light of Jesus to transform fatherhood in your heart. Perhaps God is asking you to be His hands and feet in someone else’s life.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.
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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 358, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 13:36–52) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).