S05E084, In The Father’s Arms, Andy B Minute Video
While sitting in church one day I couldn’t stop looking at the perfect illustration of how we should be with our Father God, when I saw the small baby in front of me perfectly secure and resting in the arms of their dad fast asleep!
It so powerfully spoke of how important dads are!
In our society we live in a time when we know how important fathers are, and yet society seeks to degrade that role by saying that we are all the same. And yet there is a security that only our fathers can bring.
As a father I totally know this to be true – I can’t comfort my children like my wife can do and she can’t make them feel secure like I can. We have different roles to fulfil; different functions.
God designed us to be made and raised with one father and one mother. If one part of that is removed, for whatever reason, it creates an instability that is not easy to remedy without a relationship with Jesus Christ and His Father – God. That doesn't make single parents somehow lesser - don't allow that thought to grow.
But, God designed things for a reason and once we operate outside of that design, whether by choice or not, it will become more complicated and difficult to navigate. However, by God's grace, there is always hope because God will always equip us as we seek to build His kingdom, whether that is as a single parent family, or with both a mother and father.
As a product of a broken, blended, dysfunctional family I know only too well what happens when one parent disappears, for whatever reason. My father didn’t simply disappear, but got married and chose to focus on the children of his new wife. I know the pain that comes from that, and the security I only ever, eventually, found by trusting my Heavenly Father.
God is our loving heavenly Father, and what an example He truly is!
Just a thought...
Andy B
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Transcript
[00:00:00] So another Andy B Two Minutes Video. Now, a few weeks ago I was sitting in the church and just in front of me was a dad with a little baby. The baby was maybe six months old. Now, the baby had a little bit of food, you could tell it was getting a little bit tired. But as we were going into some more music, we're moving into the, into the sermon and into prayer this baby was perfectly peaceful, sitting, lying in the dad's arms.
[00:00:38] Now I've called this one In The Father's Arms, not cause it sounds like a pub, which it kind of does, but it's not about that. It's about how relaxed, and comfortable, and safe, that vulnerable child felt In The Father's Arms, in a church service, which really struck me of how important it is that we have people that we can be comfortable with, just like that little baby.
[00:00:58] And the obvious [00:01:00] link here is that when we are, we are talking about God, when we are about our relationship with Jesus Christ, we can rest In The Father's Arms, in God's. Arms.
[00:01:10] There's a lovely piece of scripture in the Psalms and it talks about how his, his, his wings, so to speak, speaking metaphorically, they create a shadow for us, so we are shielded from the sun, we're shielded from danger. Now, that doesn't
[00:01:23] mean to say as Christians, we don't have problems in our life, but it means that we can actually rest securely under God's arms, under His, His outstretch wings. In this metaphor.
[00:01:34] Do you feel safe in the father's arms? Maybe you haven't had a great relationship with fathers, or men in your life generally. God is our father. and the reason why it's important that He is a Father is because of what the father represents
[00:01:52] in our own household, if our boys fall down, I can comfort them, especially when they were little. And they might have a cut on their, their arm, or their [00:02:00] elbow, their knee, whatever, and I could comfort them, but I couldn't comfort them like Jo did.
[00:02:05] But what Jo couldn't do is provide a secure foundation like I could. She could make our boys feel very secure, but there was something special about the father doing that. And we see in society the importance of fathers being degraded, just destroyed in so many ways. And yet, fathers are so pivotal to the futures of our children.
[00:02:27] So, if you're struggling to feel safe in the father's arms, try and get your head around the fact that God is your Father and that He loves you. And that when you are in a relationship with Him, just like that baby, you can be safe In The Father's Arms.
[00:02:41] Just a thought.
Andy B, 06/06/2023