I'm sure that none of you ever did this, but when I was a little kid I used to make up stories about my life. I can
recall telling my best friend's grandfather all about the hunting trips my dad and I used to go on, which was
about as far from the truth as you could get. I suspect that my friend's grandfather knew I was making this up,
especially since I was only about nine years old.
I can recall another friend of mine telling me stories all about his father. They were great stories, which all
ended with his father being killed during the war (WW2). I was too young at that time to do the math, but some
time later I realized that a person born in 1953, could not have had a father that was killed sometime before
1945. When I finally did figure it out, I didn't challenge my friend on it, because I also figured something else
out. My friend was the only child of divorce on the street and his stepfather was not someone who you would
want to claim as your own.
My friend did not have a father that he could take pride in, so he created one. He created a father who could
be admired, respected and proud to call his own. I don't think it was just to save face that my friend created a
father. I think it came from something much deeper than that. I think he wanted some roots. He wanted
someone that he could point to and say, "He is where I come from." I think he wanted to fit in with the rest of
us. What he was saying about his imaginary father was, "I don't have a dad now, but the one I had was
special." And, I think he wanted what he wasn't getting - love and respect.
Now it may be kind of obvious where this is going, but I don't think that saying we have a Heavenly Father is all
that straightforward. Shortly after my wife became a Christian, she was in a bit of a crisis. The pastor that she
was talking with, talked to her about her having a caring Heavenly Father. My wife's reply was, "My father died
when I was four. I have no idea what it means to have a father." That is a difficult place to come from, though it
is probably a better situation than for those whose fathers abused them.
God very deliberately chose to call himself Father. Jesus very deliberately called God His Father. God has
claimed the position of Father in our lives and if we are going to get the full benefit of God's Fatherhood we
have to grab a hold of what that truly means. We have to put aside all our preconceptions of what a father is
like. This requires some work, so let me leave you with a series of scripture passages, that put God's
fatherhood in perspective.
Psalm 103:13-14 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear
him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
Isaiah 40:11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his
heart; he gently leads those that have young.
John 6:40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal
life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
Matthew 18:12-14 What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will
he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell
you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the
same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.
Galatians 4:6-7 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out,
"Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an
heir.
Proverbs 3:11-12 My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the
LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.
Matthew 7:9-11 Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give
him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will
your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Matthew 6:25-26 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your
body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look
at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds
them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Ultimately, what is truly important here is that we don't have to create a father. God is the perfect and ideal
father. And, we can hold our heads high and lay claim to being his children. We who call God our Father have
roots and a heritage that we can be proud of. Many of us will have to overcome our image of what a father is,
because unfortunately our own fathers were far from nurturing, protective, generous, loving, kind, just, merciful,
good, fair, etc. They didn't care for us the way that our heavenly Father does. And our heavenly Father does
offer us healing and freedom from our distorted view of what a father is truly meant to be. As we draw closer to
God, trust Him and allow Him to work in our lives we will know God as Father and benefit fully from His
Fatherhood in our lives.
Kevin.
H.S.M.M. CHAPLIN
| Imaginary Fathers |
| Heavens Saints M/M Windsor Ontario Canada |
| “All scripture passages are NIV unless otherwise noted.” |
| JESUS IS LORD |