P3505 A good, good Father.

“The mature children of God are those who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit. And you did not receive the “spirit of religious duty,” leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the “Spirit of full acceptance,” enfolding you into the family of God.” …. As you can see, maturity means we will understand our position before the Lord. So we volunteer to flow with the Holy Spirit seamlessly. The Holy Spirit will make our Heavenly Father real to us. Then whatever He wants is such a joy we can’t wait to comply with His wishes and ideas!

“… And you will never feel orphaned, for as He rises up within us, our spirits join Him in saying the words of tender affection, “Beloved Father!” For the Holy Spirit makes God’s Fatherhood real to us as He whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!”” Romans 8:14-16 TPT. Amen!

In these tragic days, many people have no concept of what having a father looks like. So many fathers are absent. Not all have moved away, but sadly, some male role-models are working hard to provide food and shelter for their families and they are using up their time, to provide. Plus the first thing to break under the stressors and temptations of marriage today is the bond between husband and wife. This can mean many children lose their father figure. (About 1 in 6.).

In our current society the pressure to be good parents is huge. Everything parents do, or say, is judged and can be found wanting. At the same time, it seems like a child’s needs have become the centre of everything. Children don’t just have a place in society, they have become more important than everyone else! It seems we are making up for the neglect of the past with overindulgence. Now let’s look at that thought another way.

The primary need every child has, is to have both parents! Whether they are good or bad, kids need role models. Without that, they are reduced to patterning themselves, or they can end up admiring people, through rose-coloured glasses, who are not worthy of their attention. Many other parents just ‘don’t have enough quality time’ to parent — and so they abrogate their responsibilities to other people – including the media – a vehicle that exists to make money – not look after kids! The danger is obvious. Unless I actually know you in real life, I can’t possibly know if you are someone who preys upon innocent kids to steal their innocence away.

Likewise if we don’t know our earthly fathers, then we can be disappointed and disillusioned by that consequence – because fathers provide children with security, significance, and stability. We need our Heavenly Father’s input to help us understand these things, as it seems that our ideas about what male love looks like – has been reduced to judgment. So if someone proves to be human and weak, then they are pronounced faulty. Good time to remember all of us are broken!

Father God understands mankind’s plight so well, He chose to became one of us. I am not commenting on surrogacy, but this morning as I typed this blog, I suddenly realised Father God understands surrogacy. He put His seed inside a young woman and watched His Son grow from a distance. He also understands having to give up His right to parent His only Son, to someone else. He gave Joseph the privilege of raising Jesus. Plus He understands being an adoptive parent because He has chosen to adopt us! Sadly He also understands the loss of a Child. He is a true Father, with a true Father’s heart, and His wisdom and loving kindness has voluntarily shared man’s predicaments, despite our penchant for sin.

When we are meditating on the goodness of our Heavenly Father we cannot afford to compare Him with, or expect Him to have, the flaws of a human parent. That’s a mistake many people make. They transpose their idea of an ideal father onto SomeOne we cannot possibly even begin to describe. And when that juxtaposition does not work, they choose to regard Almighty God as faulty because He doesn’t meet their logic.

God is not answerable to our logic! To understand Him, even a little, we must use the tools He has provided for us – the Holy Spirit’s help, the bible, the gifts He has given to the church. And we need to start by “ …believing that HE IS, and that He is a rewarder of those who genuinely seek Him.” Applying our own rules borne from fatherless situations, is bound to lead to failure, because then we are putting ourselves by means of our own judgment – into His role. Almighty God is above our understanding, That’s why Jesus came here in the first place, because man’s idea of Who Father God is, is too limited and cannot provide us with a complete picture of His Ways. We need faith not logic.

“Woe to him who strives with his Maker!—a worthless piece of broken pottery among other pieces equally worthless [and yet presuming to strive with his Maker]! Shall the clay say to him who fashions it, What do you think you are making? or, Your work has no handles?” Isaiah 45:9. “But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the One who formed it, ‘Why did You make me like this?’” Romans 9:20.

We need to understand that HE IS Who He says He is: “A Father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, He leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.” Psalm 68:5-6. He is a good good Father, and He always has a good purpose, even if we cannot see it, YET. Bye 👋.

P 2422 Understanding choices is a mark of maturity.

“And in love He chose us before He laid the foundation of the universe! Because of His great love, He ordained us, so that we would be seen as holy in His eyes with an unstained innocence. For it was always in His perfect plan to adopt us as His delightful children, through our union with Jesus, the Anointed One, so that His tremendous love that cascades over us would glorify His grace —for the same love He has for the Beloved, Jesus, He has for us. And this unfolding plan brings Him great pleasure!” Ephesians 1:4-6 TPT.

Choice is a funny thing;  when we are teenagers we can end up choosing to do stuff because all our friends are doing it, whether that stuff is good or bad. And unless we happen to be Sam Kerr, David Beckham or Roger Federer, we can end up not chosen for some sporting team etc. at school, because everybody has worked out that we are a liability not an asset. I could never hit the broadside of a barn myself – and I often fell over my own feet. I bench-warmed my way through High School!

However … Jesus Christ chose us first … ‘while we were yet sinners…’  And at the same time maybe we actively hated this parent or that sibling, or this teacher or that boss, and wished them gone or dead – He still chose us. And He did that before we ever even got here. Such is the power of real love. Immaturity, I’ve personally discovered, often leaves all the hard choices to other people. I have a terrible feeling that the sub-text on that kind of decision is about being able to blame someone else if things work out badly. Not choosing is still choosing!

One of the worst enemies of the freedom to choose, is fear of failure. This means that we don’t choose because we don’t want to look stupid or unpopular. We don’t call it that, of course, we call it discernment, or even preferring one another. Speaking for myself, again, I discovered that idea is a bald-faced lie. Most times the only feelings I’m looking after are my own.

Human beings can go to great lengths to cover up their secret defensive agendas. For instance, if I accuse you of something, then you will be so busy defending yourself you will probably forget all about what I did. It is plain to me that the Lord wants me to get rid of all my defensive weapons and let HIM look after me. My problem comes because I can see that thing works both ways. What if He wants to look after you? 😳 PS He’s God… He can do BOTH.

Meanwhile, I’ve spent my lifetime sharpening and honing these implements of defence I’ve designed – and I don’t want to give them up – they are almost automatic now!

Have you ever watched a little kid hesitate between two items because they want both and you’ve told them to choose one?  Yeah, now you’re getting it. That’s what choice is all about. It means deciding in favour of one thing and against another and that’s not a bit popular in the world we live in.

We know that we can only choose well, because He chose us first. The real power of personal choice actually resides in knowing we’ve been empowered by what He did. Even if no-one ever empowered us as children, Jesus Christ, the ever-loving powerful Son of God has empowered us now! We simply have to choose to believe what His book says and act on it. We both know choices are hard because the habits of a lifetime compel us to “look after myself” — because no-one else will. 

So here some final questions to ask yourself: who taught either of us to be suspicious of other people? If you or I happen to think of someone when we ask that question, we should start by forgiving them. And remember, forgiveness, is not a feeling – it’s a choice! Of course you’ve never heard me say that before have you? 😂

And it helps to deliberately remind ourselves that Jesus chose us. Not because we have a sterling character, or we are aesthetically pleasing, or we are gifted one way or another. His choices were made the same way ours need to be. It involved sacrifice. Understanding the power of personal choice is a huge key while we are learning personal maturity with His help. It’s part of following Him. He chose – so now we choose … despite how we feel. 👋🏻