The Daddy Problem (Love Part III)

Currently humans are not born into perfect relationship with God.  You know, we have the whole sin problem (thanks to Adam with a supporting role played by Eve) which separates us from God.  This is the reason Jesus died on the cross, to redeem mankind.  In other words, our sin makes us worthless and destined for hell.  Jesus died to give us value again through a love relationship with God.  So now, even though we are born into sin (which is why you don't have to teach children to lie or steal) we have hope for the future.


However, because we are born out of sync with God, our first examples of relationships are flawed (because the only perfect relationship is one with God).  Usually the first relationship we have is with our parents.  It is this relationship with our parents (especially our fathers) which makes it difficult for us to understand and relate to God later in life. Think about it, in many passages of scripture God identifies himself as our father and he identifies us as his children.  God is our father in the sense that he provides for us and protects us.  Because God does this for us we are supposed to trust God and love him all the more but there is one major problem- Many people (tragically) do NOT have fathers (or mothers) who were good providers and protectors so we don't know how to respond to God in this way.  We think if God is my father, he will not be around when I need him, he will not spend time with me, he will not say nice things to me and even if he does give me money (which is a big if), he will not give himself to me.

Again we have a situation where the issue is NOT God, it's the way we think about God.  One of the very first things you need to get clear in your mind is that God is NOT a man.  The bible says God is not a man that he will lie and he is not born of man so that he would ever have a reason to repent. (Numbers 23:19)  This means every word God says is true and God is incapable of doing even one wrong thing. Even if you have never known a father who did what a father was supposed to do, you can still trust God by faith.  You have made it this far (presumably you have made it somewhere because you are reading this) believing that there is a God even though you can't see him, so you must have some faith.  If you believe that there is a God, take your faith a little further and believe that God is good and if good then a good father (maybe a lot different than the one you had growing up). If you believe it and you trust in God, he will NEVER let you down, he will be the father to you every child dreams of .

I know this week is the love series so let me tie it all together. Fathers are important.  Men learn to be fathers from other men (hopefully your own Dad if he is around), which means they learn to provide safety and security in the lives of people around them.  Women learn that they are safe and secure from their fathers.  So men and women with good fathers come together and the men don't take advantage of the women and the women are justified in trusting the men and you are on the road to a good relationship.  But without knowing God (the ONLY really good father) and without having a good relationship with God the Father, relationships are out of whack.  What your father on this earth did or did not do does not have to determine the man or woman you become.  We are re-born into the family of believers and here our Dad is good and takes good care of us.  So we are men and women who are secure and have value.  We are not taken advantage of nor do we seek to take advantage of each other. Lastly because we are safe and secure with our father, we are not looking for anybody else to feel that role in our lives.

BEFORE you try to enter into a romantic relationship with another person, you need to get your relationship with your REAL Dad (God) together.  It is only at that point that you can give and receive love.