PREMSWAROOP MINISTRIES

FATHERHOOD OF GOD

The Father-child relationship is the defining factor of the fatherhood role in life. Most fathers are naturally protective, supportive, and responsible and are able to provide a number of significant benefits to his children.

Fatherhood is defined by contact level with child. The amount of relationship he shares with the child.

But we also see that some children have bad childhood.

In India, Son and Father don’t share direct relationship or they are not very intimate.

For example, if a son needs something or has to share something with father, he will not go to father directly but to his mother. Mother in turn will act as a mediator to convey the message. This is how Indian families are built up. And that is how the father is portrayed.

Children always has a perception that father always says “No” for everything. They think father always is strong and is the only decision maker. We must not have observed a father saying “Sorry” to Son. They normally are distanced by generation gap, culture and lifestyle.

All these are basically created by the people themselves. They don’t talk to their children and share their own points of views with the children. The point is that the parents are just so busy with their work and jobs that they don’t have time for their children. Some father’s lives are not exemplary, where children don’t prefer to follow them. And they realize it when there is a huge distance between the kids and the parents.

We as fathers have a responsibility to portray our Heavenly Father in our fatherhood. We should be a role model to our children. It should be in action and not in words. Our lifestyle should be an example to our children. For instance, if a father speaks lies or takes bribes and does injustice and at the same time if he asks his sons to be righteous, the son would think that father doesn’t deserve to tell me as he doesn’t follow. Children don’t listen to what the father says but they follow father. Fathers are always role models to children

A child always needs father and mother for his/her better childhood. Parenting is a combination of father and mother in equal ratio.

A survey made in America with such children who are living only with mothers and children who are living only with fathers for 25 years separately.

The analysis resulted as follows:

Children only with Fathers ----- Bold, Strong and Conventional

Children only with Mothers ----- Vulnerable, timid

In Bible, Timothy had mother but no father. Always he was struggling with boldness. Paul was injecting boldness to Timothy. When you don’t have biological father, God will give you Spiritual Fathers definitely. If you don’t have Spiritual Father, you will be like an orphan in the Kingdom of God.

Though whatever circumstances our childhood is in or was in, we have to remember that the God the father is always there to give us the love of both mother and father. Jesus came to show the Fatherhood of God to this world. Jesus was the first one to call the God “Abba Father”. He explained how loving, caring and faithful our Heavenly Father is.

When disciples asked to teach to pray, Jesus said not to pray like Pharisees, but He said to pray as “Our Father, Who art in Heaven” (Matthew 6:9). God is father of Jesus and when Jesus came down to earth and He called God as Heavenly Father. Jesus introduced this nature of fatherhood of God to us, which will change our perception, our complete self.

Jesus said that He knows the Father who is Creator, Wonderful, All Powerful, Unchanging God, and Almighty. Jesus introduced the Heavenly Father whom He worshipped and who is His Father and has intimate relationship, to us and made the Almighty God, our Father. Jesus calls God “Our Father” which speaks about the relationship and togetherness.

Our confidence comes out of our relationships. When we know somebody very well and share a very good relationship, we are confident about that person. So if we have relationship with our Heavenly Father, our attitude will be changed, thinking would be changed. We don’t accuse anybody for anything. We believe that God is in control of our everything.

Then we will say “What man can do with me when God is for me?”

Though we are unfaithful, God is faithful. Sometimes we might miss fulfilling the vows we make, but our Father is faithful, merciful, loving, caring. He will not leave or forsake us. We cannot catch God but God catches us. It is like when we give handshake to God as son or daughter, it is God who catches our hand strongly.

When Tsunami hit Tamilnadu, a father and a son were fleeing for their lives and while running son said “Don’t leave me”. Father said “Don’t worry my son, I will not leave you”. The tide hit them; the power of that tide was so strong that father couldn’t hold his son. Son was separated from father and was driven by the heavy flow of water and the boy was screaming “father, you said you will not leave me, but why did you leave?” During that time, somebody rescued father, and the son was disappeared by then. The boy’s father was crying bitterly. Earthly father cannot rescue us from all situations but our Heavenly father can.

Our father in heaven is capable of handling any tsunami in our lives. If something is ruining you, God will never leave you. When you come back to God, He will not turn His face away from you. We should be overwhelmed by his presence in our lives. He is the one who provides, protects, cares, loves and takes us to high places.

Fathers, when your children think about you, they should feel that you are by them and you can understand them even if they do some mistakes. Forgive them and love them more than before. How much ever we are filled with dirt, our Heavenly Father is ready to wash us. Earthly fathers should also adapt the same attitude.

We all know about Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-31). In Jewish Culture, Son can ask property share when he reaches 30 years. This prodigal son knows that he was right and knows what he can ask and claimed the property share from his father.

Our Heavenly Father will also accept whatever we ask once we are matured in Spirit and Word. We can ask God and He will give us.

This prodigal son, he asked his share as per law, which is right, but used in a wrong way according to his own understanding.

When God gives us talent, gift, blessed life, elevation in job, we will never think about God’s purpose for our lives and forget to hear from God and do according to our own understanding or lean unto other people’s understanding who say that whatever they say is God’s will.

This prodigal son also did the same and was ready to eat pig’s food. When he came back to senses, he realized, that he sinned against his father and God and repented and went back to be like a servant at father’s house. Father was waiting for lost son, as he saw his son coming back, father ran to the son. In Jewish culture, old people should not run. But here, father portraying Heavenly Father, when saw his son, ran towards him breaking the culture and tradition and hugged and kissed him . When we turn to God after a great mistake also, He will receive us with open arms.

Today, if you are in such situation, God our Heavenly Father is speaking to you to come back. If you turn to God again, there will be a festival in Heaven. Have an intimate relationship with God.

There was a young man in German, who was fatherless. He went to some place where he happened to meet a pastor and the pastor said to him that he needs to know Heavenly Father. The young man went to his room and prayed. God came down and there was a great light in the room and he was just saying Father, Father, Father …………… for 2 hours and he experienced true Father’s love.

Galatians 4:6 “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

- Rev.Mohan Babu

Senior Pastor, Sion Fellowship, Hyderabad