He is My Father

But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,  for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 

Galatians 3:25-26 (ESV)

“…in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.”

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Have you ever watched the original “Star Wars” trilogy? In the first movie, “Star Wars”, we are introduced to a young man named Luke Skywalker. After the death of his parents when he was little, Luke was raised by his aunt and uncle. He lived a farming life with them, but Luke had a longing for adventure.

After his aunt and uncle were killed by “The Empire”, Luke realized there was nothing left for him there. He left his home and everything he knew for an adventure of a lifetime, starting with Obi-Wan Kenobi.

In classic evil vs good genre, “The Empire” was evil while “The Republic” was good. Luke and Kenobi were on the side of good, “The Republic”. Another character, Darth Vader, is on the side of evil. We come to know Darth as all that is representative of the dark side and “The Empire” – menacing, powerful with a strong desire to control.

Throughout the trilogy – Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi – we follow Luke on his adventure to become a Jedi Knight. The Jedis, after all, were the defenders of good and light.

Whether on the side of “The Empire” or “The Republic”, both sides were influenced by this thing called, The Force. This force could be used for good or evil. StarWars.com describes The Force as “a mysterious energy field created by life that binds the galaxy together” or a “spiritual energy”.

This so called “spiritual energy” stems from what’s inside the person. Darth Vader is filled with hate and anger. That motivates his actions. Luke, who also has this gift in him, struggles to understand its ways and reconcile his feelings while using it.

Early in “Star Wars”, Ben Kenobi tells Luke that Darth Vader killed his father, Anakin Skywalker. Then, “The Empire Strikes Back” comes along…

I am your father.

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Sitting in church this weekend, one of the songs that was played talked about God as Father. As I stood there singing to God, I wondered how many people in the service were like me way back when.

When I first said yes to God and asked Jesus to be my Savior, I wasn’t so sure about the role of God as a father. I mean, my father wasn’t Darth Vader, but, there was a lot of pain and hurt involved.

In my post, “Treasure the Moment“, I wrote, “The key moments of a girl’s life that a father should be present for, he wasn’t there.” In the moments he had been there, they were ones to forget.

Since I said yes to God, I have learned the meaning of forgiveness. I’ve learned the meaning of unconditional love. I’ve learned to allow myself to make mistakes without condemnation, a

nd to others in kind. I’ve learned that I do have value, I am loved and cherished, and I do have meaning in my life. And, I’ve learned that there is a reason for my existence on this earth because God says I am His.

As God I learned to accept myself as a child of God, He walked me through the forgiveness process with my dad. I began praying for my father’s salvation. I wanted him to go to heaven. I wanted him to know that God loved, valued and cherished him and would forgive him of all of his sins, and the hurt he caused me. Not just some sin and hurt. ALL!

I was praying for his salvation. I was praying for his soul. I was praying that before he took his last breath upon this earth that he would believe in his heart and confess with his mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord. Romans 10:9 (NIV) says it best, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Verse 10 continues with, “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with our mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

No More Prayers to Pray (April 2021)

The last voice my father heard was mine. The last face he saw was mine. He opened one eye toward me, I spoke and then he breathed his last breath on this earth.

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Forgiveness is a process. There is no magic pill that you can take to automatically forgive someone. You must go through the process, dealing with all of the feelings and emotions that are inside of you. Pushing through all of the crud of life is necessary, even when it hurts.

When I began to allow God, as Father, to teach and instruct me through this, I began to see He wanted the best for me. He wanted my thoughts and emotions to be aligned with Him. As my thoughts and emotions walked God’s way, my actions followed.

The needs that weren’t met by my father as his child, have been and are being met by my Heavenly Father, God, as His child. It’s almost hard to explain it, but that’s just how it is. Those who had a father present struggle to grasp the whole process unless they’ve had to reconcile some father issues in their own lives too.

I grew up without a father present in my life, but I have One for all eternity in God. He is my Father.

And I am His.

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Knees Down, Prayers Up

Sunny