Our Father in heaven…
Staring at an empty bed, the permanent absence of Jerry daily thrust itself like a knife into her heart. Words of “you’re worthless” and “you will never amount to anything” echoed through her mind each and every day that she walked by his room, glancing in. There was a time when she called him “Dad,” but Emily no longer had a father. Only painful memories.
…
The soreness of another night of drunken battle made concentrating in class difficult. Billy wasn’t one for confrontation, but his dad was. Bruises explained away by invented bicycle accidents and covered up by long sleeves in the summer served as bitter reminders of an inner vow he could not keep: I will never be like this man.
…
Stories like these echo the experiences of real people. Perhaps you’re reading them and are reminded of painful or disappointing interactions with your father. The reality is that each of us had a very human father growing up. The imperfections of our father coexist with wonderful traits that sometimes never emerge.
These experiences color our idea of the word “father.”
Even those whose father never escaped our definition of perfection, their father provided an incomplete picture of the word “father.”
When Jesus refers to God as “Father” in the Lord’s prayer, He isn’t inviting us to project our good and bad experiences with our own father onto God. Escaping this tendency is difficult as projecting past experiences upon present and future experiences is very natural.
When Jesus refers to God as “Father,” He is praying a prayer of respectful dependance and affectionate intimacy.* In the time of Jesus, fathers were seen as strong providers and examples upon whom their socially dependent children could depend. He prayed to one whom love and discipline could come from simultaneously.* He prayed to the one who sits with arms open wide, awaiting the run, jump, and embrace of His children.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to allow your definition of “father” to come from God and not your experiences. Perhaps you need to repent for taking your experiences and projecting them on God in a way that limits who you see Him to be. Maybe God wants to heal you of some of the woundings that you received growing up. Perhaps it’s time to talk to someone about it.
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), 143-144, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 6:9-13) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).