Everlasting Father
I and the Father are one. Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?
Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” (John 10:30-32, 37-38, NIV)
One of my aunts was visiting Mt Olive a few years back and she remarked about Josiah, my oldest boy, “He is the spitting image of you, Al. He looks like you as a young boy.” That afternoon we did some paging through the scrapbooks to find my kindergarten pictures. After comparing them to Josiah, sure enough, there was a strong resemblance.
Jesus says, ”I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Does that mean that Jesus and the Father look a lot alike or have a lot of similarities? Does that mean Jesus is a miniature version of God? Does that mean that they can guess each other’s next move? Jesus is not speaking about mere similarities but rather about an extreme and extensive coordination of purpose, intent, desire to help and a plan that makes it so.
As one of our children displays some action that mirrors me, my wife will quip, “I know where she gets that from.” What she means to say is that something about the way one of our children dropped their spaghetti on their lap or smacked their lips virtually mirrors how I would act in the same circumstances.
Traits tend to get passed down to children. But what we see in Jesus and God the Father is more than a trait. Jesus’ thoughts and actions, his way of looking at life, and his adeptness in conversations is exactly the way God the Father would conduct himself. Since God the Father finds it enjoyable to be face to face with his children, Jesus is the personal embodiment of the Father’s sentiments. Jesus is the exact representation of God the Father (Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:15).
Why does that give you and me hope? Why is that so encouraging? Because in Jesus we can entertain the idea of unmasking God’s actions and words toward us. They don’t have to be nebulous or cloudy. Jesus makes the exercise of experiencing God less textbook-dry and more relationally real. We see how God the Father would express his care for the underdog and the overlooked. In Jesus you see the Father’s eyes glare and blaze at anyone who trips up his kids or stunts their spiritual growth. In Jesus you get perfectly worded phrases from the Father’s own mind but delivered through the lips of the Son. The Father communicates his longing to be with his people and through Jesus this longing becomes a reality. God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. (John 3:16, NIV)
As we watch Jesus’ clever words, we see the Father’s wit. As we witness a private gift to this newlywed couple (John 2:1-11), Jesus’ miracle conveys the desire of the Father to keep this couple from being at the center of a cultural embarrassment. The Heavenly Father wants to heal the eyes of the blind; Jesus’ hands make mud and touch the young man, healing him of a lifelong distress.
“If I do [the works of my Father], even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” (John 10:38, NIV)
God, the Mighty One, can be a daunting figure. But as we realize that the Mighty One is also our Everlasting Father, we have an opportunity to gaze at the Father’s heart through the actions of Jesus. We see joy and excitement in each interaction with his kids. Jesus perfectly picks each situation to apply his Fatherly love and unending logic. In the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), we have a most earnest plea from God made through his Son. The plea says many things:
Watch how he raises the dead. That’s the Father’s desire for you.
See Jesus ache for the crowds who are feeling lost and misinformed. That’s your heavenly Father at work for you.
Enjoy the presence of little children being blessed. The Father is seeking to bless you through Jesus.
Watch Jesus walk long and dusty trails so that he can find one hurting soul among the crowds. That is the Father calling out to your hurting soul.
So let’s take careful notes on each human interaction that the four Gospel writers share with us. Let’s inhale each eloquent word that is spoken by Jesus. This is the Father breathing new life into us by communicating—in bold and brilliant fashion—his exact feelings, brought to you by the Son.
And when the Son finally goes through his painful trials and dies, it is the Father facing a very difficult choice knowing he did not want to lose any of his kids. Jesus' hurt and pain expresses what the Father was willing to endure so that we could find security and a sense of worth in the family of God.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (1 John 3:1, NIV)
Blessings to each of you as you explore the love of the Everlasting Father as seen in the person of Jesus Christ.
Pastor Al