Abba, Father

We just celebrated Father's Day, and I have been blessed to have some amazing fathers in my life. My  father, my grandfathers, my father-in-law and my husband are all men who I love to celebrate on this holiday because of the way that they have guided, loved, protected, and cared for me and my children. I got to thinking this year about how they remind me of how God is my Father.

Growing up, I quickly learned that one of my father's roles was disciplinarian. My dad likes to tell people about how early I found out that a sweet little "I love you, Daddy" could get me out of trouble, but it didn't take long before my dad saw through my actions and realized that he had to discipline me. He loved me and he needed to teach me right from wrong. My dad likes to explain the difference between discipline and punishment. Discipline is training one to act a certain way. It can involve punishment, or it can be encouragement, advice, or direction. Punishment is a penalty for an offense committed. Punishment without discipline is a dangerous way to parent. Giving a penalty for an offense without guidance in why the behavior was wrong, what the better choice would have been, and an assurance of love is not likely to succeed in long term behavioral changes. More likely it will cause rebellion. But when punishment is coupled with discipline a child learns from their mistakes and understands why they are being punished. My dad always talked to us when he had to punish us. To be honest, that was the worst part of the punishment for me because I couldn't stand knowing that I had let my dad down. He would discuss with us what we had done, what we should have done, and let us know that he loved us - and then he would hand out the punishment that we deserved. It's not a fun part of parenting, but it's an important part. God is a disciplinarian. Hebrews 12:6 says, "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It's because of His love for us that He disciplines us, and He only punishes those that belong to Him. A parent only disciplines their own child. It's a sign that we are children of God when we've been chastened by Him. Sometimes it might be a gentle a prod, a reminder of Scripture, an admonition from a friend or loved one. Sometimes it might be more serious - oftentimes it's the normal consequences of our actions. The difference between God and my earthly father is that my dad eventually had to allow me to go out in the world and not be directly under his authority anymore. I am always under God's authority! The author of Hebrews goes on to say in verse 10, "For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness." I will never be perfect on this earth, but God will always be correcting me to continue teaching me what it means to be holy.

I was born into my earthly family. I belonged to them because of genetics. My father-in-law sort of "adopted" me into his family. I have his name although I don't have his genetics because I married his son. He has always made me feel as if I truly belonged to the Lyman family. God is my Father, not because I was born into His family. I was born a sinner, separated from God. Instead I was adopted through His grace into His family. Galatians 4:4-7 says, "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." Although I got the name "Lyman" through marriage, I didn't have to earn it. I didn't have to buy it, pass a test, prove I was worthy, or get a degree. Once I married Joel, I was automatically part of the family. In the same way, I don't earn my position in God's family. I didn't have to give my money, prove I was holy, perform any religious rites, or go to Bible school. God redeemed me  when I was still lost in my sins. As soon as I believed in Him, I became His child. This is my favorite part. I am a daughter of the King of kings and Lord of lords. The Almighty God, Creator of the universe, not only knows who I am, but welcomed me into His family because He loves me. Not only that, but I'm not a second class citizen, but an heir of God! Doesn't that just give you goosebumps? 

Our son is the spitting image of his father. They have the same impish smile, the same twinkling eyes, the same mannerisms - they even walk the same as a friend just pointed out the other day. They share the same DNA. I do not much resemble my Heavenly Father, but one day I will. Every day He is teaching me to be more like Him, but someday our family bond will be apparent to all. In 1 John 3:2 it says, "Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is." When He returns, I will be like Him finally and no one will be able to question that I belong to Him. Sometimes I don't look much like Him, and there are people who could say that I must not be part of God's family because they don't see a resemblance. I hate that. But someday, I will look so much like my Father that there will be no doubt that I belong to Him.

One thing that all of the fathers in my life have in common is love. They love me, they love our family, they love my children. It's love that motivates them to be such wonderful fathers - to care, love, protect, guide. It is love that prompted God to adopt us. 1 John 3:1 says, "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him." It was in His love that He gave His life for us. We didn't deserve it, but He loved us anyway. In 1 John 4:19 it says, "We love because he first loved us." It was His love that drew us to Him. He loved us before He created the world! It was only in response to His love that we loved Him back. 1 John 4:7-8 tells us, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." God loved us because He is love. If we want to look like our Father, we should also demonstrate love. Now, we already read that love doesn't prevent God from disagreeing with us or punishing us. In fact, it's the opposite. God disciplines us because He is love. Our world today doesn't understand that. We can demonstrate God's love even when we disagree. But our love should be so apparent that others can see God in us. 

I know that not everyone got a glimpse of their heavenly Father in their earthly father. The men in my life aren't perfect any more than I am perfect. They did their best, but they sometimes made mistakes. When we brought home our first child from the hospital, my husband told me that we had to understand that we were going to make mistakes, but we had to pray that whatever mistakes we made wouldn't be severe. Maybe  your dad didn't resemble God at all. Maybe you didn't have a dad around. Even if you never got a chance to experience these things in a human father, you can still experience it in God. 

Happy Father's Day!