Former Blackout Artist

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
– Ephesians 1:17

I’m often reminded of a slogan I heard years ago.

Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a Dad.

As I read Paul’s words in Ephesians 1:17, I can’t help but think of my dear mother, who continuously prayed that I would someday come to know God personally. And not know Him as some sort of distant relative, but to know Him even better than I knew my earthly father – my dad.

On October 5th, 2018, God answered her prayers. That was the day that my earthly dad passed away. That was the day when this suddenly fatherless, lost, and drunken alcoholic cried out to God and begged Him for help getting sober and to change him. In my brokenness and lostness – that’s where God found me. And He answered my prayer, too.

Several years later in a men’s Bible study, right as we finished and were about to leave, one of our group members closed with prayer. And as he began his prayer, he didn’t start with “Father God” or “Lord” or “Heavenly Father.” He began with, “Dad.”

To be honest, I found that very awkward. Who on earth refers to the almighty God as Dad? Isn’t this disrespectful and beneath Him to be addressed in such an earthly way?

Today, I better understand why he called our Heavenly Father “Dad.” He had an intimacy with God that was much closer than the intimacy he had with his own earthly father. And he expressed that in such a profound way that it left a lasting impression with me. Perhaps my quiet criticism was born more out of self-righteousness and jealousy than somehow defending God’s honor.

The truth is we should all endeavor to know God as our “Abba Father.” May we, as His children, grow in our spiritual wisdom and know Him well enough to trust Him like a little child trusts his dad. And let us not be unlike the grieving mother who constantly prays to the Lord for her lost children to be found by Him.