Daddy

The other day, I was at the pool with the Cru staff and their families. One of the dads was in the deep end, catching the younger kids as they came down the slide, and my mind was flooded with memories. I can still remember the way it felt when my dad would catch me – I never once doubted how strong he was or if he would be able to keep me from going underwater. There was such a freedom in trusting him to do what he said. 

I don’t admit to being anywhere NEAR the perfect child growing up. I was the one for whom they had to read James Dobson’s book “Raising the Strong-Willed Child.” I thought I was always right and I always wanted to be the boss. In fact, my bossiness and back-talking were what generally reciprocated spankings. Then, as a teenager, I wasn’t the rebellious “I hate my parents” type of kid, but I definitely made mistakes when it came to things I said and my relationships with my siblings and driving… But through it all my Dad continued to love me. He was disappointed when I made the wrong decision, but he didn’t kick me out of the house or tell me that I was on my own. He was always there to provide spiritual wisdom, and he consistently prayed for me to grow and change.

Often times, though, I think that the idea of God as our Father is a simple Sunday School truth that we take for granted. Yes, we know that God is our Father, but I know for myself personally I don’t always think of Him as a loving and compassionate daddy who wants to always be there to catch us. I feel like I am a hassle to Him, sometimes – always seeming to trip and fall over silly things, and that He is muttering under His breath that He had to rescue me again. I have begun to realize, though, that God is not like that. Our God is a compassionate God. Psalm 103:13 says, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.” I like the way Anna Wanamaker described God’s reaction to our mistakes when she wrote "What if God does not turn his face away from me in disgust when I have a moment of weakness? What if he looks at me in my weakness and sees me with eyes of compassion? What if he has brand new things planned for me this very day that I can take hold of if I don't run and hide?"

In Psalm 68:5, David calls God a “father to the fatherless.” How comforting is that? John 10:29 says, “My Father, who has given (my sheep/Christians) to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” We are secure in Him, safe in His hands. I love the description of this relationship in Hosea 11 in which “Israel” and “Ephraim” can describe us:
“When Israel was a child, I loved him. and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me… It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them… How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?.. My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, and not man – the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath.” (vv 1-3, 8-9)

We can trust Him the way a little boy who can’t swim trusts his daddy to keep him from drowning. We can be secure and know that nothing will take us out of His hands – not even things that we do. Earthly fathers are never going to be perfect, and a father has probably failed most of us one way or another, whether it was not following up on a promise to be at a basketball game or losing his temper or even not being present in your life. But God is not an earthly father. He will never leave you or forsake you (Joshua 1:5). In believing this, though, we have to follow up with being able to trust Him with our weaknesses. Layton couldn’t swim, but he knew that his daddy would catch him. We can’t swim through life all alone, so we have to know that God can hold us up through the waves and in the deep parts. 

One of my favorite verses portraying the tender side of God comes from Isaiah 40:11, and it says, “He tends his flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in his arms. and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” What a beautiful image of God scooping us up and holding us close to Himself – He doesn’t begrudgingly offer us a hand, but he gently helps us up and leads us back to His path.