Father God - Part 2

"So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him." (Luke 15:20) I love that verse. It's a great story to begin with, but when you add to that how it's main purpose is to convey the heart of God the Father towards us when we turn back to Him, it's all the more amazing. This is the second in a two-part blog post series. In the first post (read HERE) I offered four negative father examples: "Santa" dad, Fidel Castro dad, Invisible Man dad and Bill Clinton dad. My bottom line was: God the Father is not like any of these "dads." Now I offer what He is like. First of all, God is a "Provider." (Matthew 5:45) He is a "Provider" of things out of our control / beyond us. Think about it. We go through life and we barely give it a passing thought because of it's regularity. The sun comes up and goes down. The rains come and the rains go. The seasons change. Everything keeps ticking along and we take it for granted. (Don't we?) We go about our business and we don't concern ourselves. While all the time it's Father God taking care of us - providing those things we desperately need that are beyond our control to make them work or not work. Secondly, God is a "Papa." (Romans 8:15) He is a "Papa God." (Allow it to get deep down inside you.) "Papa" is an endearing term. Isn't it? And it's a warm term. I think of things like happiness, joy, closeness (/intimacy). I think of having fun. I wonder if people would ever think like this about God. I mean, being the inventor of all things, He invented "fun," too. And just to go a bit further - do you think that Jesus ever laughed or just relaxed and kicked back? Or do you think He was always intense every waking moment and wound up like a top? (Sometimes that's the impression we get from His messengers?) And as I'm trying to break down barriers here, it might make people a little nervous who like their God as "Fidel" instead? God is a "Provider" and God is a "Papa." (That's two "P's.") Lastly, God is "pained." ("P" number three.) His heart is broken over sons and daughters estranged (away) from Him. And He would have it differently! (Are you far from God today?) And He would have this change! Day and night and night and day He's thinking about you just like in the Parable of the Prodigal/Lost Son. (Luke 15:11-32) He's on the porch constantly watching for your return. "And maybe that's him!" "And maybe that's her!" Can you just see Him say it? (It's true.) And He's praying for you to come home. (Jesus is the Great Intercessor.) And He's waiting. And He's longing. And He's broken over the whole situation. It's Father God. It really is. He's a "Provider," a "Papa" and "pained." It's time for you to come home to Him. (2 Peter 3:9)