The Love of a Father

Every once in a while, a kind elder brother in the Lord will do or say something that recalls to me, ever so vividly, the beauty of that unique feeling of having an earthly, visible father, that feeling that used to be so constant, that feeling that I sometimes miss with longing.

What security, what confidence, a devoted father provides for a daughter! His very presence equals rest, peace, and assurance. He is protective, shielding her from evil; directive, guiding her daily choices; and instructive, bringing her up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Brought up by such a father, I rarely experienced worry, fear, or stress; but after his death I suddenly had to learn to juggle many new responsibilities, which of themselves were challenging, but without a father’s guidance, weighty and burdensome. I felt lost and confused. I could not trust myself; I know my fleshly nature too well, my selfishness and pride, my laziness and self-indolence. I am so weak, ready to believe all I hear, easily deceived, lacking discernment… Need I go on?

I have been uniquely blessed to have many wise counselors in my life and to them I am very thankful; but I could not single any one out to take my Daddy’s place. I sought for weeks, ever so aimlessly, for someone to fill the gigantic void, someone on whom I could depend to lead me. How painful to realize that not one of the older men I most respected or even all combined could fill the aching void, though I prayed and searched and hoped!

Surely my motive was right. Surely God saw that the desire of my heart was to please Him above all. As I turned in desperation to Him, He opened the eyes of my understanding, shedding light on the darkness of my deception.

“Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45).

Did not HE call Himself the Father to the fatherless? What need had I to rely on fallible man when God had left me such an amazing promise! Finally, completely, I ceased my fruitless search and surrendered to Him my yearning needs that could only be fully satisfied by Himself. I had been needy, foolishly so, like a child refusing to eat the wholesome food placed before him and instead demanding to return to the breast to be nursed again! 

I began writing almost daily, and I’m not talking Facebook status updates. I’m talking me, my Bible, my God, and pencil and paper. Instead of rambling to my Daddy each day, I wrote pages of personal reflections of my hopes and disappointments, of my struggles and victories, of the happenings of each day, and of my questions and doubts. It was almost like a way of communicating to my Heavenly Father. How oft, in my effort to express myself clearly, did the Spirit reveal to me the correlations between what seemed to be random, disconnected incidents, but were providentially ordained by God.

Through my daily writing I perceived that, within the very week of my surrender, God poured His love out to me through a man whom I had never consciously met, but of whom my father had spoken highly. This man and his wife embraced my family with a love that could not be explained nor rationalized, apart from the Lord Jesus.

“By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).

Being released from my feelings of emptiness, I could rejoice and delight in this unsought loving care shown so generously to me, smiling and happy, and praising God, and yet continue to be content in its absence. I was free to enjoy, but not depend upon, the attention of others. It was like icing on the cake.

I am blessed to count no less than a dozen wise, older men, dear friends God has placed in my life, who show me love in various little ways that I am so quick to notice. Often they wistfully remind me of the blessings of a father. Perhaps the reminder is in the form of words of praise and affirmation, or of gentle correction, or some teasing comment that makes me smile. Perhaps it is a warm embrace, a hearty smile, loving concern for my happiness and welfare, or any one of the millions of ways a father shows love to a daughter. But these no longer sadden me. I rejoice in them as they illuminate to me so beautifully life-size pictures of what the fatherly love of God is like. They are powerful, memorable lessons of Who is on my side:

“A Father of the fatherless, and a Judge of the widows, is God in His holy habitation” (Psalm 68:5).

"The Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow" (Deuteronomy 10:17-18).

To be sacrificially loved by one esteemed as wise and strong, equals security, rest, peace, assurance, confidence. The feelings that kind of love stirs up in me speaks, ever so loudly, of He who loved me before I was lovable and sacrificed all to have fellowship with me; who protects and cherishes me as a daughter and blesses me indescribably.

God has been so faithful. I’m His girl. What have I to fear? My Father owns the world and controls the very beating of every heart. May I be obedient to Him, fully resting in His care, bold, courageous, and strong, unafraid of man, unafraid of suffering, unafraid of the devil’s schemes.

One day I’d like to marry a God-fearing, upright man who will be such a father to our children that their minds may easily draw a parallel between their earthly and heavenly Fathers, and thus be filled with awe of how God the Father must love them.

Delighting in the Lord's Day

One part of God’s perfect design for us, yea, designed even from the beginning, before Adam’s disobedience, and modeled by the Lord Himself during the week of Creation, is one day of rest in seven. It was further commanded on that great day when, amid the exceeding loud blasting of the trumpet, and the smoke ascending as the smoke of a furnace, the Lord descended with fire upon the top of Mount Sinai, and spoke these words, even Ten Commandments, which He later engraved upon stone with His own finger:

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work… For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8-11).

What tremendous blessings result from obeying this command! Each blessed Lord’s Day, I love resting from my own works, my own concerns and responsibilities, and focusing on His. I try to retire to bed early each Saturday to prepare my mind and rest my body for the coming day, that no fatigue distract me from devoting it fully to Him.
    
My day begins with a joy that continues throughout the course of the day. I sing to myself while readying for the meeting of the church; I pray and meditate on God’s Word during our long ride; I greet everyone with a great smile and hug, enter into worship with a thankful heart, listen eagerly to the sermon, taking extensive notes. The second service I embrace the little ones in the nursery, who are usually delighted to see me; we sing praises to God, and before snack I encourage each one to lisp out his own little prayer. I could go on and on; my day is filled with such delight. After breaking bread with fellow believers, my family goes to meet at another assembling of saints, where God unfailingly imparts to me the grace sufficient for the week ahead. I am always sad when the day is over, but I am also cleansed and renewed, eager to begin a new week of trusting God and serving Him with purity of heart. 

The Lord’s Day is undeniably a very sure way to keep us faithfully following Him. For six days we must labor to provide ourselves with earthly needs like food, shelter, clothing, and transportation, but His day we devote to feeding and clothing our spirit. We reflect on the previous week’s defeats and victories, recognize the Hand of God, repent of our impure hearts, and resolve to overcome. The public worship and praise to God refreshes the heavy spirit and rejoices the weary soul. The preaching of the Word and the sweet fellowship of the saints teach us the ways of God, build our faith, and strengthen us for the challenges of the coming week. Filled with faith, hope, and love, we are ready to face our trials with patience and perseverance.

"A Sabbath well spent brings a week of content
And strength for the toils of the morrow
But a Sabbath profaned, whate'er may be gained
Is a certain forerunner of sorrow."

How inspiring to think every holy, blessed Sabbath of the literal millions and millions of people around the globe, in every time zone, gathering all hours of the day to bring praise to the Almighty God! How it must bless Him! Yet at the same time, I consider how it must also grieve Him to see the countless homes where on His day never a Bible is opened, nor a prayer said, nor a voice uplifted in praise.  

Years ago, when this country reverenced the holy Sabbath, criminals would confess that they began their career of wickedness by a neglect of the duties of the Sabbath and by vicious conduct on that day. I would argue that still today, when men begin neglecting the meeting of the church and instead follow their own pleasure, they stand in danger of neglecting God and turning away from following Him.
 
Notice the extensions of this command:

“In it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates” (Exodus 20:10).

Fathers are commanded not only to honor the day themselves, but also to ensure that their whole household is also honoring it! Wow! When you behold a family convened one day in seven for the purpose of acquainting themselves with truth, you behold a family who weakens the power and breaks the yoke of sin. For how, indeed, can any sin persist long when you are weekly purging it from your heart and life?

"If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it” (Isaiah 58:13-14).

This, then, is the spirit of the law, not following all the regulations the unbelieving Pharisees added, but calling the Sabbath a delight and honoring the Lord by not doing our own ways nor finding our own pleasure.