What is your age? (III)

 

Fathers

John wrote that they know Him who is from the beginning (1Jn 2.13,14). Who is a father? He can be a mature adult or an elderly person; but in any case, he is supposed to be a well of wisdom - 'Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.' (Job 32:7) A father is someone who has already begotten somebody; he has reproduced himself; he has sons and/or daughters; he is a mentor. Do you have children in the Lord?

I am not talking about converts that we happen to make as we preach the Gospel in the streets and walk our way afterwards without ever knowing what has become of them: Jesus has not called us to make ‘statistics’ but disciples. Have you ever disciplined anyone? Have you ever taken a new convert by hand and led them to imitate your faith and zeal? Has anyone become your follower as you follow Christ yourself? Do you have children in the Lord?

Fathers protect, nourish, train, chastise and take pleasure in seeing their kids make progress, succeed and even do better than them. The least Jesus wished was for us to do the kind of wonders that He did (Jn 14:12). Have you ever protected or nurtured someone else’s faith? Are you correcting or training someone now? Is there anybody whose faith and deeds are an example to many because of your unique impartation and investment in their life?

Fathers have known God; not superficially, but intimately. The Amplified Bible renders it this way: “You have come to know (recognize, be aware of, and understand) Him Who has existed from the beginning.”

Moses told the Lord: “If I have found favour in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favour in your sight.” (Ex 33:13) In other words, he who knows the Lord knows His ways, His way of doing things and can recognise Him behind His multiple facets. But the more we know God, the more we spontaneously know and do what pleases him and thus find even more favour in His sight. Moses understood this well.

Jesus said that eternal life is to know Him, the only true God and Christ, the One He sent (Jn 17:3). This knowledge and this life begin with believing in the only begotten Son of God given to the world as a sacrificial and expiatory offering for sin (Jn 3:16). During this time of nativity, it is good to remember and not lose sight of the fact that Christ Jesus is the Reason for the Season. There can’t be any Christmas without Christ. The real date of His birth really doesn’t matter; the fact is: He was born on a day and Christendom agreed to set December 25 aside to remind the world of His coming and celebrate ‘His Birthday.’

Eternal life is to know God; may we make Moses’ prayer ours and desire to know His ways. Let us desire to understand Him better in order to know Him and live on earth as if already in eternity. Inasmuch as there is a lot of easiness in doing things we understand, there is a lot of ease in serving a God that we understand and know and a lot of enthusiasm in teaching and transmitting what we know.

This period is quite propitious to good resolutions, wishes and all sorts of prayers. It is a time when people ask so many things for the New Year. Before indulging into the exercise, it might be worth (re)reading “Be careful what you ask for...”

In the meantime, I wish you a ‘WONDERBLESSED’ CHRISTMAS. May the Holy Spirit come upon you and may the power of God Almighty overshadow you so that the Christ may be born or reborn in a fresh and special way into your heart and life. He is the Reason for the Season!

God bless you!