The Father Who Wants Me
Life as a foster parent
For 18 of our 41 years of marriage my husband and I were foster parents.
We have lost count of the number of children who came through our door. They came for many different reasons. Some needed us because they only had one parent and they had gone into hospital. So we became mum and dad for a few days. Other children were a real handful and their parents desperately needed some time out. Still others came to us because they needed a place of safety.
Whatever the reason for coming to us we were glad that they came. Our lives have been so much more rewarding for having these children in our home and I hope that we were able to give help and comfort to them when they needed it.
For a short, borrowed while, they became honoury members of our family.
Foster and adoptive parents, in spite of the safeguards and procedures put in place are also human and will make mistakes – just as some of the biological parents have. Parenting is probably one of the scariest things we do as adults. I would suggest that it is probably the most important job on this planet and one of that we are trained the least to carry out.
God is called Father
Have you ever noticed in the Bible that God calls Himself by a lot of different names? In some places he is a wise counsellor. In others he is refers to Himself as the dependable one or King of Kings.
When Jesus arrived on the scene He frequently referred to God as “father” and even once calls him “daddy”. Jesus was extremely keen that we get the right picture of God. So he told a story that he hoped would illustrate this.
A father has two sons. One gets greedy and decides not to wait until his father is dead before asking for his inheritance. He asks and gets it and off he goes into the sunset. His life becomes a mad round of parties, splurging on the best designer suits and generally behaving totally irresponsibly without a thought for anyone else or his future.
Then the inevitable happens and he runs out of money just at the same time as there is an economic slump. He finds himself homeless and forced to take a really menial job. Even then he doesn’t manage to make ends meet.
Anyway to cut a long story short the son decides to go home, apologise and try and ask for a lowly position in the family business. He is not sure what kind of a reception he will get after the way he left in the first place.
When he arrives home it is to find that his father had spent each day hoping he would return and looking out for him. Not only that but the father bears no grudges and behaves in an incredibly loving and generous way towards his son. The Father also makes sure that neighbours, family and work colleagues also know that he has forgiven the son and that he is welcome back. You can read this story for yourself in Luke chapter 15.
That is the kind of picture Jesus wants us to have of God. A God who cares passionately about having a relationship with us even though we might have messed up and treated Him badly. A father God who wants to forgive and forget and welcomes the idea of relationship repaired.
I like that picture of God.
The Good Father picture
I have been so fortunate in my life that I have had a great dad. One who cared, provided for me and loved me. I know from my experiences during all those years of fostering that others have not been so fortunate.
The Bible tells us that God asks us to consider Him as a Father. He wants to reassure those who have had bad or no father’s in their lives that He is the perfect father. One who never lets you down.
Read how some Bible writers describe God:
Sing praises to God and to his name! Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds. His name is the Lord—rejoice in his presence! Father to the fatherless, defender of widows— this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
I am the perfect Father... I offer you more than any earthly father could
If you take time to explore further the Bible reveals so much more and builds up an incredible picture of a God who loves you, wants you no matter what you have done, a Father who wants to comfort you and who has gone to considerable lengths to bring His family back together again. Jesus came to this earth to demonstrate that God the father is for us – not against us.
This is the thought that God wants to get across to each of us – whatever kind of biological or adoptive father we might have.
This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.
