|
|
| home articles newsletter materials reviews |
 |
 |
[Previous entry: "Volume 15 - Lessons From The Dog House By Stephanie Bennett"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "Volume 17 - Internal Knowledge of the Godhead By Cynthia Fisher"]
02/19/2003 Entry: "Volume 16 - In Search of the Father's Heart By Richard Waters"
Why is it that my flesh struggles so hard to resist the command to love others (my neighbor) as myself [Mt.22:39] at the same time boasting that I love God [I Jn.4:20]. My contention is that I have yet to fully know (intimately) the Father and be known (intimately) by Him; I have yet to experience what it is to be a son of the Father. To be a son leads to being a brother. Jesus tells us that we must enter the Kingdom of the Father as a child [Mk.10:14] and the inference is that we are taken into the Father’s lap [Mk.10:16]. It has been my experience, through 20 plus years in the religious system, that I was never allowed to experience the childhood stage and development with the Father. Almost immediately, I was pushed off the lap into religious activities and schooled into ways of pleasing God without a chance to experience His unconditional love. It wasn’t until I had my own grandchildren that I started to see and experience the uniqueness of each one and the unconditional love I have for them. Each one holds a special place in my heart that would otherwise be void if they weren’t there. There are times when one of them might be sick or in some kind of pain that I am compelled to just hold and comfort them knowing that I can’t take the pain away. It is times like these that the Father reminds me that pain is a way for Him to call me to Himself as He just wants to hold me in His lap, that I experience His unconditional love. Yes, it is a subjective experience, but it is just as real as the subjective knowledge that I have of being in Christ and He being in me. Call it what you will, but I know what it is to now curl up on my Father’s lap and remain as a child until He decides when it is time for me to grow up. Our Lord Jesus is always pointing us to the Father. He came to do the Father’s will [Jn.6:38], only did what He saw the Father doing [Jn.5:19], was the way to the Father [Jn.14:6], was the revealer of the Father [Jn.8:19], to see Him was to see the Father [ Jn.14:9], etc.. By Christ, we call our Father, Abba [Rm.8:15], the very essence of Daddy! Jesus reveals the very heart of the Father in the discourse of what is often referred to as the Prodigal Son. There are two sides to that coin, however, and I’ve entitled it: Prodigal Son-Ungrateful Brother: Missing the Father’s Heart Luke 15:11-32 There are some important revelations about the Father’s heart in this parable. Verse 12 reveals the Father’s generosity and willingness to share and give of His possessions even though He knows the son is yet immature and will squander them. Verse 20 reveals the reconciling heart of the Father who runs towards us as soon as we make a turn back towards Him. He waits and longs for such opportunities. Verse 22 reveals His heart to stand with us and welcome us back into His family robed in righteousness and ringed with authority as sons. Verse 23 reveals His heart of joy and that He can’t help but celebrate over us as we turn to Him. It is interesting to see the brother’s response to the Father’s generosity and mercy. He wasn’t at all pleased and some very interesting things are revealed. First, he chose to isolate himself from the joy of his Father. Second, he equates obedience and loyalty as slavery. Even though he was with his Father, he never learned or got inside his Father’s heart. Isn’t it much like the Church today? We know a lot about the Father, but we don’t really know Him. We think that by all our diligent scripture searching that we will know Him and have eternal life (see Jn.39-40) but fail miserably at really knowing Him. What was the Father’s response to the "Obedient Son"? Verse 31 reveals the true House of the Father; "’My son’, the Father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours’". There was and is always a place in the Father’s heart reserved for each one of His sons (daughters). All that He is and all that He has is theirs. Verse 32 reveals the response of the Father; "But we had to celebrate and be glad,--." Love compels the Father to respond in celebration. He cannot help Himself; it is an automatic response that He has set around the affections of His own heart to celebrate whenever a son (daughter) returns to Him. The true House of the Lord, from my perspective, is not the Church but the Heart of the Father. Jesus said that He was going back to the Father to make a way for us to return to the Father’s heart [Jn.14:2]. It was Jesus’ zeal for the Father’s heart (House) that was His driving force [Jn.2:17, Psm.69:9]. The Church is now the Lords tool to bring others into the heart (house) of the Father. What better picture do we have (shadow of) of the heart of the Father in the Tabernacle of Moses. First we have the outer court, representing the body. Then we see the inner court and the most holy place separated by a veil. This is a picture of the heart organ with its two chambers where the life of the body (blood) flows into and out from. Next we have the picture of Solomon’s Temple that not only shows the two chambers but an additional 90 chambers for storage and other uses. This is the picture that I see where Jesus said that He was going to prepare a place for us in the Father’s house (heart). Even the Song of Solomon alludes to this in that we cry out to be taken away and be found in the Kings chambers [vs.4]. There is so much more to be said and revealed on this issue. Suffice it to say, that only after I’ve found my place of identity in the Father’s heart that I can rejoice with Him and not only be His son, but also a brother who truly loves his brother as himself. Two thoughts and a poem I leave you with; First A Son – Then A Brother First The Lap – Then The Throne OH FATHER OF MINE Oh Father of mine where have I been, Oh Father of mine where have I gone, Oh Father of mine is it really true, Oh Father of mine forgiving with grace, Prepare a feast, ready the calf, |
| Copyright © 2003, 2004 The Rebuilders All rights reserved |