“I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:26
June 15, 2023
Do the experiences of our fathers determine our views of the Heavenly Father? There is a popular idea which, sadly, is passed on by some Christian counselors and even preachers in the pulpit. We may be told “that since your father didn’t love you, therefore our self-centeredness, self-pity, and unbelief have an underlying reason. Somebody else caused my problems; somebody else must fix them.” (David Powlison, Seeing with New Eyes). But such a persuasion collides with our Heavenly Father’s love for the Son and His love for us. We don’t need “re-parenting.” We need to drink deeply from the well of biblical truth. What if the love of your earthly father was deficient? The love of the Father for the Son, His love for us, and the Holy Spirit who brings the love of God to our hearts through the Gospel, move the lies away that deceive us. We can return to Powlison again, “If your father didn’t love you, you can know the love of the Father. The right kind of counselor, friend, or parent will challenge any lies you have heard.” In Christ we have a Father who is perfect in His sacrificial love for us. “If God did not spare his Son, how shall he not also freely give us all things” (Romans 8:32).
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“Lord, cleanse my mind of the imperfections of those who have wounded me, which I have projected on to you. Give me the power to return good for evil rather than evil for evil.”