The Heart of the Father
Anyone who has seen Me, has seen the Father. (John 14:9 NIV)
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. (Colossians 1:15 NLT)
My Dad died when I was ten. Prior to that, he was a remote figure who kissed me goodbye in the morning before he left for the office and good night when I went to bed in the evening. I have no memory of him spending any quality time with me; no spontaneous hugs, no conversation. After I became a Christian, I realized I was having a serious struggle with getting to know the Father.
Jesus wasn’t a problem. He was the loving older brother who I could go to with everything. He was kind and understanding; someone who was always there for me, who would put His arms around me and take care of me, who would dry my tears.
God was the stern, remote father in his study at the end of a long, dark hallway, much like the hall to the principal’s office at my school.
Many years later, a pastor told me the reason I had such a hard time understanding the love of my heavenly Father was because I had no real idea of the love of an earthly father. Growing up with a dad who was remote and, then, who disappeared completely out of my life, had left a gaping hole. In his book, The Case for Grace, Lee Strobel uses the term “an orphan in the heart” in one of his stories.1 That hit home with me. That’s what I was, an orphan in the heart. So, between having a remote dad and a mom who was not the “touchy-feely” type, I grew up with few demonstrations of love or words of affection.
I read the scriptures about God being a God of love. My mind accepted the premise, but it never sank into my heart. My perceptions always stayed the same; God the Son was the approachable one, God the Father was not. Then, many years later, I came across Max Lucado’s books and, thanks to him, I finally grasped the love of an earthly father and was able to translate it into the love of my heavenly Father.
Max Lucado often talks about his daughters and recounts stories of them growing up. One of the stories that resonated with me was when his daughter, Jenna, was giving a piano recital and had a mental block. Her fingers froze on the keyboard in front of the audience and she couldn’t continue. After agonizing minutes, she finally got back on track and bravely finished the piece but the damage was done. Lip quivering and tears welling, she came off stage and into the arms of her dad, who hugged her and told her everything was okay. After reading that, the scripture “He who has seen Me, has seen the Father” finally moved from head to heart then spirit.
At that moment, my entire walk with God changed. Everything started falling into place. Now I could pray openly without being afraid. I could tell God the Father anything. Thanks to Max Lucado, my entire Christian walk moved to a deeper level.
