Resurrecting the Father
A Vacation Bible School teacher told her class the story of Jonah and the whale. During the discussion the teacher asked the children: “If you were swallowed by a whale how would you escape?” A boy said: “I’d start a fire in the whale’s stomach, and he’d cough me out!” Another said: “I’d stomp on his tongue till he spit me out.” Then a little girl said: “I’d call my daddy and wait till he got me out.”
Now there’s a young lady who is very fortunate. She has a father that she can trust. On Sunday, we applaud those fathers and those surrogate dads who walk in the footsteps of God providing a wholesome environment to young people. On Sunday, we also applaud a trustworthy God who comes to us like a loving compassionate father, because we are “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36).
I love the following Calvin and Hobbes scenario. Calvin’s dad is sitting on the patio reading the Sunday paper when Calvin walks by, covered with mud. His dad says: “Wow! How did you ever get so muddy?” Calvin replies: “Well, I was just standing there, minding my own business, when all of a sudden, a horde of dirty cannibals comes by ” Dad says: “Forget it!” and goes back to enjoying the paper. Mom is heard screaming: “Calvin! You got mud all over the house! Aie! The couch! Did you walk across the couch?” Calvin says: “I didn’t do it! Someone else must have! I saw a muddy guy go running from ” Mom yells: “Out! Out of the house! Now!” Calvin says: “Leggo! Ow! Ow! All right, goodbye!” Then Calvin walks up to his almost napping dad and yells: “Hey dad, catch the water balloon. Great reflexes, dad. By the way don’t go in the house like that. Mom’s in one of her moods again.”
When God sees a breach He builds a bridge saying: “I did not send my Son into the world to condemn its people, but to save them! (Jn. 3:17). Even when being drenched by a water balloon or a verbal waterfall, God calls for us to learn to be repairers of the breach, and restores of paths of righteousness and the gardeners of green pastures in which our enemies may dwell.
The best way that I know for us to become such repairers and restores is to become like a dog: in the presence of others wag your tails and not your tongues. Resurrect the Father and learn that God’s power and therefore your power should always be subordinate to His love.
On Sunday, praise God and say: “Happy Father’s Day, God!” On Sunday, resurrect God the Father into your life so that you might model yourself after Him. Resurrect God the Father so that you might be filled with His grace that can say to others: “though your sins are many they are forgiven (Lk. 7:47), because it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me!” (Gal. 2:20).