God As a Dad

For whatever reason, the Lord has lately been showing me examples of Him as Father. It's as though He's invited me over to His house to peer into His day to day family adventures. Just a couple examples so far...

It's a lot like going to a kid's birthday party at a wealthy, high profile, highly influential person's house, asking the lines of a king or president. You knock on the door, expecting to feel awkward and out of place. You expect some servant or butler to answer the door and welcome you in, hoping for, but definitely not anticipating a glimpse of the home's owner. Maybe he'll even introduce you at some point in the night, but don't hold your breath. Just do the safe thing, find an empty corner to hide in, and awkwardly wait it out till the party's over.

Not a chance. Before you can even knock on the door, it's flung violently open and you, still reeling in shock, are enveloped in a crushingly powerful bear hug that immediately takes your mind off the amazing integrity of those poor door hinges.

'Welcome! Come in! We've been expecting you! So glad you could make it!' You hear these excited greetings, but they're not coming from the butler, they're coming from the king himself, who happens to still be holding you in the bear hug. He lets you go just before you black out, and as you're catching your breath, you begin to notice that things aren't at all as you anticipated. He's not wearing a suit or a robe & crown, but old ratty jeans and a tie-dyed t-shirt. And his hair is long and frazzled, pulled back into a makeshift ponytail.

You're almost immediately offended into thinking 'I thought this was the king. This is no way for a king to dress. Or behave.' But before you can complete the thought he says, 'Follow me. I want to show you something.' He leads you through the kitchen, which you only recognize by the enormous refrigerator looming over you. It's intimidatingly large, and you feel a little unsettled. But then you notice that it's covered in what has to be thousands of crayon drawings and fingerpaintings, covering in layers every square inch of its surface. You know all of these underdeveloped messy scribblings came from the king's kids. You want to think 'The king's children's drawings ought to be better than these. Look at them! They're not even coloring inside the lines. Certainly they're not for public display.' But there is so much love and pride radiating from him as he explains each one of them as if they were curated masterpieces in the finest arts museum.

Then you hear them. Their laughter. Their joy. The unbridled energy of life emanating from the next room. They're all in here. All the king's children, in all of their wildness. You just watch for a while, and listen.

Then you realize the king isn't with you. He's no longer giving you the guided tour. He's not standing around with the other parents watching the kids play. He's in there. He's playing WITH them, the way they play. Down there, on the living room floor, wrestling and sweaty, getting covered in jello, and boogers, and loving every minute of it.

He's absolutely secure in His identity as Father; nothing will shake that in Him. It doesn't damage His reputation; it doesn't stain His holiness to lower Himself to the level of His kids playing on the floor...

What can separate us from the love of the Father? Absolutely nothing! Because He comes after us. When He sees us playing on the floor, He knows us at that level, as we are right then. He says, 'Of course I want you to be up here on my level with me, but I know your limitations. I'm deeply familiar with your immaturity. And I'm not waiting till you're grown up to have relationship with you. So what if you can't reach me where I am! I'll come to you! I'll meet you right where you are, and I'll stay right there with you as you grow up. I will not leave you as orphans, I will come TO you.'

You begin to get a completely fresh perspective on the Father, and as you turn toward home it hits you: Everything I experienced tonight was an illustration of His heart toward me, and an example of how my heart needs to be toward my own children.

And you can't wait to see the rest of the King's house.