Someone in between
I know how important it is to be apart of bringing people together and I’ve learned through the years, that before I set up a meeting between people, to spend intentional time with each of them separately, for a while, and when an opportunity arises and I trust that the match would be a safe one for them, I just might get a chance to introduce them to a new friend.
Although, I believe how I have approached, what I just described, to be the best for all involved, guess what? Jesus didn't introduce God to us that way.
Jesus was sent, by his Father, to us, his enemies. There was no safety involved for Him, no house for him to dwell in, no one put a welcome mat out, no hoopla for him to get going with. No, He came down from heaven, from his beautiful home, his secure position, his safe relationship, all to make a way for us to be reconciled to His Father. We read this in -
Romans 5:10 it says, when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son,
So, there were no meetings involved between us and God, because we had nothing good to bring to Him. The meeting had already taken place in the heavens between the Trinity and it was decided that Father God would offer everything, His one and only Son Jesus, to bring us to himself.
When we really think about it, what could we possibly bring to God that he doesn’t already have? we can only offer ourselves! and its the only thing he wants. The Father’s love and salvation are completely available and I pray that each of you have already done this.
For most of us reading this, we've already been introduced to God the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, so the question that now remains is for us, is to know how we are living out of our relationship that we have with our Father.
For most of my Christian life, I had a relationship with Jesus, as my Savior, and I knew He loved me and gave Himself for me so that I could go to heaven one day and have everlasting life. This was very good truth for me, but, there seemed to be a void in my everyday life experience. I believe this was because I didn't understand what to do with my relationship with the part of the trinity, called, Father. I thought of him as a God of the heavens and He felt very distant to me. I didn't understand that Jesus was the introducer to His Father and that in Romans 5:10 we read that it was his sacrifice made it possible to bring this heaven dwelling God down to me and that He, along with the Holy Spirit were living inside of my spirit. Think about it…The trinity, all of them are inside of me and you! This was so new to my experience in my life. I just thought about Jesus and he was the One that I prayed to and I felt safe with, but not so safe with God and I think its because I didn’t see them together, as One, in me.
Several years ago, I was talking with my mentor about this confusion I had and she began to explain that I may have a concept of God that was not in the right light. As she began to share with me, her words rang true and I knew I needed a change.
I’d like to share a small portion of this conversation with you, so that it may help to bring to light where you may be living in your relationship with the Father. She began to explain to me that….
There are 3 father’s for us to consider.
The first father we have is the one we have when we are born. We enter this world as a sinner, seperated from God because of the fall of Adam.
In John 8:44 it says, You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
So what we had was a father of lies! Not so good!
The second father is The God-father - for a Christian who lives life as though everything they do is on a sliding scale of performance, they will experience this guy. Have you heard of the movie The Godfather? it portrays a mob boss who was scary and definitley not approachable. You’d better do what he says or else, is the belief wrapped around this guy. By the way the father of lies, although not the father anymore of the Christian, can still talk and try to sell this fake father to us. Telling us he’s a a father who is a demander, a withholder. A father who is always distant and doesn’t really care about you and he always sells the “just try harder to please him”! card. It’s a treadmill life that leads no where, and he knows it. Have you ever been on a treadmill? I have and it’s exhausting!
The Biblical Counseling Coalition has an article titled Breaking Free From the Performance Trap. It is very helpful for anyone struggling with what I call the Godfather syndrome.
Here is a link-.
https://www.biblicalcounselingcoalition.org/2019/03/11/breaking-free-from-the-performance-trap/
Our third option and only TRUE father is Abba, Father - This father is for a Christian who knows that he/she has a Father God who is safe and faithful and offers a deep loving relationship to his children, unconditionally. The Father who delights in us. This Father I speak of is the Holy God!, who wants me to call Him “daddy”. Yes, you heard me….Seem too familiar to you? Jesus said we could, so we can. I like that Jesus calls him Abba, Father. It looks like this…. my dad and I are really close (Abba) and He’s got everything under control (Father).
Here is a verse that shows us how Jesus the Son and his Father interact.
Mark 14:36 (Jesus was on his way to the cross)
And He (Jesus) said, “Abba (daddy), Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”
Here is another verse along the same line. Paul describes the intimacy of relationship with God for US with Him in Romans 8:15:
For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
Jesus calls Him Abba…. and we can, too!
When I heard this teaching of the 3 fathers explained in such a way, I realized that I may have an Abba Father, but I wasn’t spending anytime with Him. I had bought the lie that He wasn’t a good father. I was always, and I mean always, looking over my shoulder, paralyzed in my decision making and always thinking “I’m such a disappointment”. Because, I was living my life every day with the GOD-FATHER standing over me. Makes me quezy, right now, just thinking about how I lived.
I was so encouraged that there could be another Father relationship experience and that I could have it right now. So, I fired the God-father! But I realized that I had to learn how to live differently because it was so ingrained in my mind that I had to perform for acceptance in every area of my life, that I needed help to move forward. Truth had to replace these lies!
One simple thing I began doing each morning was to say “good morning, my Father”. Seems small, but it was where I needed to start. He wasn’t far away, He was right there in the room, actually even closer, He was and is, in my spirit. The more I did this, the more comfortable it became. And yes, I still do it to this very day.
Through a process of time, I had a lot of old tapes that ran through my mind that had to be thrown away. As soon as one of those tapes started to play in my mind, I started learning to pause and to reject that thought. Then put in a new tape, or thought. (Romans 12:2) Here’s just one tape I had playing over and over, in my mind -
“Dayna, you are such a disappointment and you need to try harder next time”.
These kinds of thought over time began to shift to what my Father said about me, more than what I had believed before when I thought he didn’t really see me, except when I messed up.
As a Christian, or better said this way, as someone IN Christ, I know that what Father says about his Son, Jesus, he also says about me. So, what does he say about Jesus? How about Matthew 3:17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
then, as one IN Christ…. I am also loved and he is well pleased with me, not because of what I’ve done, but because he wants to. As simple as that!
It was through this process I started to learn how to be loved by the Father that had always been loving me, even when I didn’t get it.
A book I recommend would be “Captivating” by John & Staci Eldridge. It was a very helpful one for me to start seeing God as my Abba, Father in a whole new way. It’s helpful for anyone who needs to be introduced to the Father through love.
Another one is Fret Busters by Roy Lesson, especially day 24. It describes the liar’s voice and Jesus’ voice and and they are very different from each other. I have it pretty much memorized, because I’ve had to visit it many times.
I hope this brought you to a place to have a serious look at which father you know and experience on a daily basis.
So grateful Jesus stood in between for my benefit and yours.
Held close in Father’s Love,
Dayna
Photo by James Coleman on Unsplash