Isaiah 63:16 But you are our Father,
    though Abraham does not know us
    or Israel acknowledge us;
you, Lord, are our Father,
    our Redeemer from of old is your name.

This strikes me as an intensely beautiful verse. Fathers and father figures didn’t just become a problem in modern times, however bad the issue might be today. God is spoken of as Father countless times in the Old Testament, but He gave Isaiah this intense revelation of His unchanging nature, and we are the richer for it. It is interesting to note that this came in a time of difficulty, when Isaiah was wanting God to act in power on behalf of His people, but it didn’t seem to be happening. It is always true that we don’t have God’s vantage point of seeing all of history, the present, and the future at a glance. That’s precisely why faith is essential for us. I have always liked the line from It Is Well Withy My Soul that says, “O Lord, haste the day when our faith becomes sight.” That won’t happen until we are with Him, but He does give us faith to get us through until then. The sad thing right now is that many people did not have a physical father sufficient to give them an appreciation of what Father God is like, and so this verse rings hollow to them. However, for even such people, God can, will, and does give a revelation of Himself to us, if we are willing to accept it. Some people have a deep-seated anger at God, rooted in their anger at their inadequate human father, even to the point of rejecting that revelation. God is amazingly patient, but it is ultimately our own choice whether we will be His children or not. The entire plan of redemption is to make that adoption possible, if we will only accept it.

I was blessed with a very good father, as was my wife, but we deal constantly with people who were not so blessed. I know that a good father blesses but doesn’t pamper his children, allowing them to learn things through sometimes painful trial and error. Total avoidance of danger is not on the menu! My father was certainly not a “helicopter parent,” and I have the physical scars to prove it! However, he was both loving and just, meting out discipline as it was called for and expressing affection and respect. I at times have to remind myself that very many of the people around me did not have such a father, so the idea of Father God doesn’t really click for them. At this point I am a father figure to many, even including some people who are physically older than I am! I am not to draw back from that, but rather point them consistently to Father God, because only He can heal and fill the “father wound” in their soul.

Father, thank You for Your incredible grace toward me. Help me share that grace freely, so that others too may know You intimately as Father, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!