What if merely hearing the word "father" strikes terror, wrenches your spirit, brings forth tears, ignites hate, churns up fear?
If our relationship with our earthly-father is damaged then our perspective of our Heavenly-Father is damaged and we unknowingly come to see God through that broken lens and we may expect Him to treat us as our earthly-fathers does, did…. We come to believe that His love is like the imperfect love we have experienced. (If there was even any love at all...) That God's love is punishing, demanding, cruel, neglectful... And we shrink away and build walls and let logic cover over the wounds. And we wait for the hammer to drop or we reject that He exists - all in self-defense because our heart knows, what our heart knows and it yearns for the love of The Father - the One who created it.
Oh, oh… What if this is, in part, why the Son was sent to us? Jesus, the Son of God, sent to sons and daughters, proclaiming the goodness of His Father. So that we would trust the Word of a Son and come to the Heavenly-Father. And let our eyes be opened so walls would come down and that we would see Him rightly and that we would learn to trust Him. Letting go of the earthly-father wounds and so be healed. And our relationship with our Heavenly-Father, God would be as He intended.
A Good and Perfect Father, perfectly loving you - His beloved and cherished child. Embracing you tenderly, holding you safely, speaking words of love to you. And you, beloved child, now filled with perfect love and able to love Him in response, gaze into your Beloved Father’s face and your joy, His joy, becomes complete.




For those of us whose earthy-father’s tender love paved the way to know our Heavenly-Father rightly, let us pray for those who stand far off in defense, that they might draw near to their Good, Good Father and come know His great love for them. For those who carry father-wounds, please come and trust the Son Jesus. For it is His great desire that you experience the perfect, healing, amazing love of your Heavenly-Father, God.
Praying with you for those who, as you put, stand off in defense. May wounds be healed and new relationships begin with the One Who is Faithful and True.
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