Commentary: The Heart of the Father God

  • Published
  • By Chaplain Maj Olga Westfall
  • 94th Airlift Wing Chaplain Office
DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. --  This month we observe Fathers Day. This day can bring mixed feelings to some of us. For some people this day is full of sweet memories of their loving and caring fathers, for others, it brings sharp pain of emptiness and void due to the absence or neglect of their earthly fathers. However, no matter how we might feel about our earthly fathers, it is good to remember that we have a Heavenly Father God, that perfect father that we always dreamed to have in our lives. He is the only one who understand us completely and what we are going through. He knows about our anxious thoughts and struggles and he is longing to have a relationship with each one of us. He is a Father with a big heart and no matter what we have done in the past, He is willing to forgive, accept and lavish his love on us.

Sometimes, based on our experiences with our earthly fathers we project the same negative image on our Father God. If our fathers we always angry, abusive, screaming and punishing us for every little thing we did wrong, we might think that our Heavenly Father is also an angry God, ready to strike us for every little thing we do wrong. If our fathers were neglectful, always busy reading papers or watching TV, if they were always gone or were absent from our lives we might think that God is the same way. We might assume that Father God does not care about us or even does not exist.

However, if our earthly fathers, although not perfect, but managed to demonstrate the heart of the Father God through their love, care and involvement in our lives, it might be easier for us to accept the love of our Heavenly Father. God has placed us in families and communities.
 
They might not be perfect because none of us is perfect. However, whether we are fathers or not we all can make an impact on someone's life. We all can show love and care to people around us. We also have hope to experience love, forgiveness and inner healing from our Heavenly Father. The story of the prodigal son has a happy ending because the father never stopped loving his son and all the time was waiting for his return. If we have hurts and emotional pain, struggles and challenges, our Heavenly Father is waiting for us to come to Him with our burdens and needs and find rest and peace.

As we think of our earthly fathers during this Father's Day observance, please remember that we have a Heavenly Father who never stopped loving us no matter what we did. His heart is open to accept and restore us if we only come seeking his presence.

Let us pray on this special occasion: "Our abiding Heavenly Father, with your silent strength you fill us with feelings of peace and wonder. You watch over every move and gesture we make, like a loving father watching his child to grow and develop into the reflection of his own values and dreams. On this special day we set aside to honor fathers throughout our land. Heavenly Father, you have promised to "restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers."

"We pray that on this special day Your reconciling love would be in our hearts. Give us wisdom and grace. Stir our hearts that we might seek to be more like you, our Heavenly Father. Lead us to be people of great faith, strong hope and bedrock of integrity. Especially we pray that You would give us the capacity to receive love and the ability to give love. We praise Your life-giving nurturing, Your patience and Your love. We ask Your blessing on all fathers as they seek Your help and guidance in this awesome task of self-giving. In Your holy name we pray. Amen."