Though my father
and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me (Psalm 27:10).
My father committed
his life to Christ when I was three weeks old. That day marked the end of being
controlled by addictions to alcohol, tobacco and gambling. He never touched any
of them again – he was miraculously changed… literally. My brother and sister,
who are 10 and 12 years older than me, grew up with the old Dad; I grew up with
the new one. The new Dad was a different person, and a different parent.
Not everyone has the
benefit of being raised by loving parents. The Bible’s emphasis on God as
father is lost on them, because they haven’t experienced what a father is
supposed to be. Many adult children have stood next to open graves conflicted
about how to mourn the loss of a parent who never acted like a parent. They are
often counseled to mourn the relationship they should have had, but was for
them denied.
We may not have had
Fred MacMurray (My Three Sons – ABC/CBS 1960-1972) for a dad, but hopefully
we have enough exposure to healthy family relationships to understand the
concept of parental love. The psalmist is saying that even if the people who
love him most were to turn their backs on him, as unlikely as that might be, he
knows God will always be there for him.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
Did your parents model
God’s love to you? Do you model it for your kids? If you didn’t grow up with a
healthy model of parental love, ask God to be your Father, and teach you how to
father your children.
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