The Good Father
Our brokenness
The two year old girl had a problem. Tears filled her eyes as she struggled to fix her precious toy. The toy which had come out of the box only a few moments before, shining and perfect, ready to be played with, now lay in pieces.
The girl was dismayed. No matter how hard she tried, she could not put the toy back together again. Even worse, she had a sick feeling in her stomach, knowing that she was the one who had caused the damage. Tears filled her eyes as her throat began to ache.
With no other options, she looked up to her father, sitting in his chair by the window, silently watching her struggle with the toy, waiting for his daughter to turn to him and allow him to make things right. The father reached out his firm hands, looked her in the eyes, and gave her a reassuring smile, a smile that said, "You can trust me. I can fix this. I can make this right."
Working masterfully, the father began piecing the toy back together. When he was finished, the father gave the toy one last inspection and handed it to his daughter. The joy on her face said it all. Smiling she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him with all of her might, then joyfully skipped off to play, thankful for a father who loved her and could fix what she had broken.
Our father's goodness
Like the hurting girl, who can't fix her toy on her own, we can't repair our lives on our own. We all have a sick feeling knowing that we are the ones who have broken our own lives, and made decisions that have come back to hurt us. There are times when the brokenness in others has overflowed and hurt our hearts as well. We can't change what has happened in the past. The pain weighs on us.
But we too have a father who loves us. We have a God who loves us enough to send his son to die for us1, to heal us and make us right with him. We no longer have to be identified by our past hurts and mistakes.2 We are forgiven, and our sins are no longer held against us.3 Through nothing of our own doing, God has healed us and made us right with him.4 All we have to do is believe and receive eternal life.1 We have been given a new life.
Our response
How freeing is it that we are made new?2 How freeing is it that God can take the broken mess of our lives and give us a new life?5 How freeing is it to know that you are loved by God, the creator who made the heavens and the earth, the God who took on our humanity, performed miraculous signs, died, and rose again from the dead?6
We have been given a new life in Christ Jesus.2 The new life on earth will not be perfect, we will have tough times, but we have eternal life to look forward to, a life of peace and joy.7 Although we can't change anything about our past, we can look forward to the future now that we have been given a gift from our father who loves us. We didn't deserve it, but our God loved us so much he gave it to us anyway.8 Our slate has been wiped clean before God, and he sees anew.9
Christians, those of us who believe Jesus is who he says he is and that his death has paid for our sins, are not perfect people.10 But we are perfectly forgiven.9 Out of thankfulness for that forgiveness and the love that we've been shown, we seek to obey God's commands.12 We still fall short, but thankfully it is not up to our works to save us. Jesus has already taken care of our sin.4
No matter what we've done, we have a father who loves us, forgives us, and makes us right again.12
2: 2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
3: Psalm 103:12 - As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
4: Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast.
5: Colossians 3:9-11 - Don’t lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings, and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator, where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, or free person; but Christ is all, and in all.
6: Philippians 2:5-8 - Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, the death of the cross.
7: John 16:33 - I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble; but cheer up! I have overcome the world.
8: Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
9: Romans 8:1 - There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
10: Romans 7:21-25 - I find then the law that, to me, while I desire to do good, evil is present. For I delight in God’s law after the inward person, but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me out of the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! So then with the mind, I myself serve God’s law, but with the flesh, sin’s law.
11: John 14:15 - If you love me, keep my commandments.
12: Romans 10:13 - For, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”