 "This Is My Dad" Those words...those exact same words can be said in entirely different ways; conveying entirely different meanings. To the child of an absent dad, it will be said tenuously, as if to say, "I'm not sure how you will react to him because I'm not so sure how he feels about me." To the child of an abusive dad, it will be said with great anxiety; wondering if it will 'set the old man off' if he's interrupted today. To the child of an alcoholic dad, it will probably be a moot point because you get used to never bringing a friend home and, if you dare, you hope nothing embarrassing will happen. But to the child of a loving father...well that is another matter entirely. You can't wait for your friends to meet your dad. In fact you almost want to arrange for them to get to meet him because you are so proud. You think to yourself, "If they only knew my father...If only they could make it to my father's house...." Jesus was so close to His Father that He said I and the Father are one. He would say to the religious hypocrites who were grossly misrepresenting His father, "You never knew my Father. He's not like that at all and I have come to show the world what Father is like. To have seen me is to have seen the Father." As He prepared to undergo the horror of the cross, Jesus made a promise. "I'm going away and where I'm going you can't come now. I am going to prepare a place for you, that where I am you may be also, my Father's house. Yes, that's right, you are going to get to go to my Father's house...forever. Perhaps the cruelest part of the whole Michael Jackson case is that he intentionally created a false 'father's house.' Ironically, he called it "Neverland," after the theme of Peter Pan. Well, if you remember that story, the boys in Neverland were actually referred to as, "The Lost Boys." In this instance, children were plied with toys and money and then betrayed and abused. In THE Father's house, there will be no abuse, no embarrassment and no anxiety. Instead there will be the sense of security and safety that comes with knowing that a Pastor Jim |
