Earthly Dads and a Heavenly Father

Psalm 103:6-14E

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁶ The Lord works righteousness
    and justice for all who are oppressed.
⁷ He made known his ways to Moses,
    his acts to the people of Israel.
⁸ The Lord is merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
⁹ He will not always chide,
    nor will he keep his anger forever.
¹⁰ He does not deal with us according to our sins,
    nor repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west,
    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
¹³ As a father shows compassion to his children,
    so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
¹⁴ For he knows our frame;^[a]
    he remembers that we are dust.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+103%3A+6-14&version=ESV)

My husband and I were and are both very fortunate to have an earthly dad’s  that loved/s us very much.  They both exemplified these verses.   One of my father-in-laws favorite verses lies within this passage,  “¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”.

 However, I know there are some out there, maybe even some reading this blog that cannot say the same for their earthly Dad.  Sometimes when we identify God as our Heavenly Father they cannot imagine a God who is loving and just.   They may identify a father as someone who only becomes angry with them or never seems to want them around.  Maybe they could go as far as to identify them as someone who used them as a punching bag.  If I could say one thing to someone in this situation, I would want them to know that not all dad’s are like that and our Heavenly Dad is as far from that as the east is from the west.  He loves us so much and wants only the best for us. 

Why did He give you a dad that was less than this?  I can’t answer that question anymore than I can answer why I have one that showed this love to me.  Maybe, just maybe you can appreciate the Heavenly Father’s love so much more than I can because you know how different His love is from the earthly one.  I don’t have the answers except to know that He doesn’t hold our childish ways against us be helps us grow into mature men and women for Him.  Forgiveness is the key to happiness.  Forgive those who have hurt us, as our Father has forgiven us. 

My dad helped me grow in the Lord and I am proud to call him Daddy.  He told me I could call him anything but Father because we only have One who can fulfill that role and that is our Heavenly Father. 

Ivan was always proud to call his dad, Dad.  He was so loving and kind and was known as the bear hugger.   He and Ivan worked side by side for years on the farm.  We loved him deeply and he went to be with the Lord long before we wanted him too. 

We are both very thankful to have had men in our lives that raised us to love the Lord our God.  Then we were fortunate to raise two daughters and Ivan continued the role of a good earthly dad, raising them to love the Lord.  I am doubly blessed to have a husband that exemplifies the verses above just as my dad.  We are not perfect, neither were our dads but we have a Father that loves us, chides us, He may even become angry with us but more than that He does not hold our sins against us forever. 

Seek Him and find the Father who is even better than an earthly Father.  One who loves us as far as the east is from the west, a never-ending love.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila