The Caring Father: How We Can Better Understand God
To understand God, we must understand fatherhood. My youngest son, Charlie, has spent most of his two years of life going from one cold or virus to another. Born in October of 2019, he is a true pandemic child, and has never experienced life without masks and sanitizer. But after countless ear infections, this pitiful little guy had to have tubes placed in his ears to prevent these back-to-back infections from interrupting his childhood. If any of you have gone through this process, you know it is minimally intrusive and very routine. The doctors do have to place them on gas so they will not move and cause unintentional damage, but they are brought right back and hardly know anything happened.
But the night before, as any father would, I paced and worried about my son and his upcoming procedure. I trust the doctors; I know he is in good hands. And in my mind, I know that he needs this done so he can get outside and be a kid without this constant deterrent. But it cannot stop my concern for my son and the wish that this was never a problem in the first place.
So, as we all know to do, I prayed to God to be with my son and to protect him during this process and recovery. In my mind, while in God’s presence, I thought to myself that if only there was a way that I could do this for Charlie. As his father I want to protect him from everything and prevent these things from happening. If only I could take this burden from him, I would.
Clarity
That is when I felt that strange sensation all over my body like every hair standing at attention. There, during my talk with God, I felt Him; I could understand God in that moment. No booming voice or still soft whisper; but it was God and the clarity I received changed everything for me.
In that moment, it felt like a thousand images went through my mind. A sense of clarity flooded my soul. I felt like I had just sat through an entire sermon on Fatherly love. It was impossible for me to take Charlie’s place on the operating table. But my Father in heaven, through His only Son, took my place on the Cross. I deserve to be nailed to that tree next to the thieves and murderers. But God could not see me go through that pain and took my burden. Why? Because He is my Father and for Him, it was possible through Jesus, the embodiment of God on Earth.
Lesson I Learned
If it was possible for me to do anything to take the pain from Charlie, I would; but it’s not. Every cut and every scrap I would take on myself if I could, but I can’t. But with God, all things are possible. He is my loving Father and could not stand by and watch me pay the penalty for my sins. Jesus Christ, part of the Godhead in His oneness with God, took my place. Without him I would have nothing; therefore, I give Him everything. Amen.
Looking for more inspiration? Check out our “Defined Series” article: How to Understand the Bible.
for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father. John 16:27
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