Thin Air, High Hope

Trey recently posted something on his Twitter (X) account that went somewhat viral. It is a picture of Alex watching a livestream of Trey playing in an online tournament. The caption was simple: “my dad watching me on stream like its the Steelers.”

The response completely caught us off guard! Comment after comment shared stories about how their own dads had shown up for them in little ways, but with big meaning. How their dads supported their hobbies and their failures. Every once in a while, a comment of hurt would surface, someone expressing that they never had this with their dad, but how wonderful it would have been.

There is something about the image of a father cheering for his child, even in the things that others may find insignificant, that seems to strike something deep in our hearts. This idea of Father is something we see emphasized in Jesus’ own teachings. When we read the Gospels, there seems to be a determination in Jesus for His followers to comprehend God as “Father.”

I am reading through Matthew currently and paying careful attention to Jesus’ words. What did He say? How did He say it? And I am noticing over and over again the tone of compassion and grace.

This morning, I read how He encourages His listeners to consider God as Father when they pray. If a good earthly father tries to look out for his child’s best interests, how much more will God as the perfect Father?

And yet, I fear two things.

One, that we don’t personally see God as a Father who delights in us, His children, who is present in our victories and failures, who cares about us and is for us. And two, that we don’t communicate that kind of Father to others.

I have mentioned this before, but there is something I find strange in our current culture of Christianity. Sometimes it seems we are so concerned with communicating our convictions, making sure people know what we believe God opposes, that we fail to communicate what Jesus seemed so determined for people to understand: what God is actually like.

Here is where I can almost hear the protests: “But Jesus gave us rules and commands to follow!” Of course He did. But I wonder if we have sometimes allowed what God is against to become louder than who God is, if we have failed to communicate the immense love that motivates it all.

Communicating God accurately as a good Father seems to me to be extremely important.

Imagine you are a parent (maybe you already are). Imagine your child brings a friend home. You are happy because you want your house to be a place where your kid and their friends hang out. There are a few fun games for them to play, some snacks and drinks if they want. You have used what you have to make what you hope is a friendly and welcoming environment.

As you move around the house, you overhear your child speaking to their friend:

“You need to know my parent gets really mad if you do this or that.”
“Be careful you don’t touch that. My Dad will definitely punish you.”
“Let me go over the rules with you again. I mean, I know most of them are obvious, but you just don’t know how mad my Mom gets.”

As a parent, I would personally feel mortified. As for the friend, I am guessing they would feel terrified.

Even if my child was correct about whatever rules they may be sharing, this would not be the message I would want to be loudest in my home. And it definitely is not the person I want to be in this poor child’s mind. I doubt if the kid would ever feel safe enough to approach me if he/she had a need or question. 

Rather, the messages I would hope to be the loudest would be: 

“You’re welcome here. Make yourself at home.”
“If you’re hungry or thirsty, help yourself. What we have is for you, too.”
“If you break something or make a mistake, don’t be afraid. Come tell me. We’ll figure it out.”
“Just be kind to each other and don’t get hurt!”
(Def had to say that last one more than once…lol!)

This brings me back to Jesus. As we read Jesus’ words and pay careful attention to the picture He painted of His…of our…Father, we may want to ask ourselves what kind of picture we are painting, also. Are we painting a picture of a Father who is quick to punish and slow to forgive? A Father who is finding more grounds to exclude than include? Have we failed to communicate who He is and how deeply He loves us, how approachable and welcoming He is?

Or are we introducing people to a Father whose home sounds like:
“You are welcome here. What is ours is yours. If you make a mistake, break something, etc., don’t be afraid! Just come to me and we’ll fix it together! Just be kind and try not to hurt yourself…or others!!”

If Trey’s post showed us anything, it is that the image of a father who shows up, pays attention, and delights in his child touches something remarkably deep in us. And for those who haven’t known that kind of father, the longing may be even deeper. The beautiful thing is, the Father Jesus describes is not available only to some of us. This Father is for everyone.