Filial Imprinting

Somebody might say,

Well, good for you! With that kind of dad, it’s easy for you to imagine God as a good father.  You don’t know MY dad. You don’t know the scars, the wounds that man left on my soul… He left his bloody boot footprints all over my broken heart and nothing can ever change that!

I admit that my dad made it easy for me to ruthlessly trust God the Father.  In some ways the older I get the easier it becomes to trust, because now that I am a parent, I can understand his unwavering heart towards me better… I have gained a new perspective on old misunderstandings and disagreements. 

But, the reality is, even the best dads on this earth fail. Even the best dads are insecure, and weak, and tired, and bent in their own way. Or simply, mortal. Even the best dads, if they are honest, would admit that they feel incomplete, truly inadequate for the daunting task of being a parent to another human being! To a son or a daughter. 

If the thought of parenting a son or a daughter doesn’t scare you spitless, you must not be a parent.

The human fallibility however doesn’t scare Jesus off from bringing the Father, His Father, front and center, into our lives.  Our lives of worship – whether we are in the church or the courtroom; in school or soccer field; kitchen or bedroom…

He knows that all of us – who grew up with great dads, and those who grew up with horrible dads, or no dads – we all need new parenting order… or rather, new filial imprinting.  Just as the movie Fly Away Home so poignantly portrays…