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Grace for the Fatherless
by kristen
June 22, 2010 | Life | one response
This year, I got to celebrate Father’s Day with not only my own father but also my brother-in-law, whose first child was born to my sister and him in April. My brother-in-law is 31, but, he told my sister, this was his first good Father’s Day—ever.
At first, I figured he was referring to his and my sister’s struggle to have a baby. I thought he meant this was his first Father’s Day in several years when they weren’t mourning the loss of a baby. But then I remembered; besides my own dad, who has always treated my brother-in-law like his own son, he’s never had a father. His dad left when he was a baby.
Sometimes I forget that my own family experiences drastically differ from others’. My brother-in-law has been a member of our family for six years, and he fits in perfectly. But I don’t always remember that our family was not his first.
I think from time to time Christians also easily forget that those in our faith communities walk into the building with different perceptions of family, different scars from our past. As Jesus did, we refer to God as our Heavenly Father, forgetting that some in our midst have no desire to communicate, to have relationship with anyone called father. We wonder why the woman who’s been attending our church for months can’t seem to commit to anything beyond Sunday morning services. We wonder why the man whose family members are staunch atheists can’t just let go, step out in faith, and believe.
When we join as communities in Christ, we must not forget that some paths we’ve traveled are longer, rockier, more cold and painful than others’. Week after week, when you stand united in one room, worshiping one God, do you extend God’s grace to the fatherless, the motherless, the neglected, the forgotten? What about the ones with charmed pasts whose faith comes easier than your own?
photo credit: Mr. T in DC
We are going through a series on The Lord's Prayer at church. As we all know, it starts off with "Our Father." Our earthly fathers aren't perfect and no matter the past, we all have some issues with our fathers. Obviously some are more extreme (abuse, abandonment, etc.) and others are less (pushing your kids too hard, workaholic, etc.). The thing that helped me unite with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ on Father's Day was recognizing we all have a Perfect Heavenly Father and despite our earthly differences, we are all children of God. We were able to celebrate authentic love and relentless grace.