Have you ever had an experience, a thing, or someone you could not stop talking about?
“But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you or him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Acts 4:19-20 NIV
Perspective
Do you know anyone who likes to repeat the same story over and over and over? You know that person. You’ve met them. You might even see them in the morning in the mirror.
What is it about an experience that is worth replaying? Why do we feel the need to share it?
I am a storyteller. I enjoy talking about some hilarious situations that have happened in my life. I also like sharing how I felt God very strongly at various times. I can’t help it. I enjoyed the laughter, the reminder, and the feeling I had in those moments. During that sharing, I also experience those moments again and again.
When I speak of the times that God was so intensely involved in my life, it reminds me of how lucky I am. How blessed I feel and how thankful I am that God was so willing to be there when I needed Him the most. He loved me through my challenges to guide me to be the person I’ve become. To give me things I don’t deserve but cherish. Indeed, God is an incredible Father.
How about you? How do you feel about your Heavenly Father?
Peter and John made it clear. Their faith in God was manifested in Jesus. They believed a Messiah would come, and He did. They had a front-row seat to Him. They were able to be with Jesus when He walked into our world. They got to experience God directly and profoundly. Three years shoulder to shoulder. They were watching and observing all that Jesus did. How could they possibly stop talking about just how incredible it was? Especially the part where they were with Jesus after He was murdered on the cross. Especially John, who saw Him dead on that cross and right there in front of him, not dead. So much not dead that He was still teaching them. Talk about an experience! Talk about a promise fulfilled!
I am sure many of us would have been changed by that experience. If you claim to be a Christian, you are changed by that experience. However, since we didn’t walk with Jesus (or do we?) and didn’t see Him raised from the dead (or have we?), perhaps it is not as profound to us. Interesting right? But I would submit that if you look at your life, you can find that you, too, have some very profound things to testify to (I love that Christian way of saying talk about!)
We can so easily take God for granted. We forget that our lives are a means to an end and that we are not here for ourselves. We get caught up in the things in our life. Maybe not those times when God was right there, but when someone hurt us or we didn’t get that job. Perhaps we are feeding our minds with social media noise? We all fall into this trap time and time again. However, we can reflect and maybe feel more like Peter and John. Let me explain. Please stick with me.
We have the benefit of the story. We have it all written down in our Bibles. Many of us got some instruction as children, and Lord knows we have tools to get and stay connected to God’s Word. We also have things in our lives where God is right there.
For me, I’m a Dad. My wife delivered three miracles in the form of our children. Gifts from God to love, raise, care for and about, and enjoy. Three lives are uniting with my wife and me to form a family.
No doubt that our family has had its ups and downs. We have had incredible moments of joy and moments where you wondered what happened to that joy. But God, for my wife and me, performed a miracle and gave us the gift of learning what it was like to be a parent. A glimpse of what it might be like for Him to be a father. An experience that has allowed me to understand what unconditional love is—an experience to appreciate why God so much wants the best for us.
I am posting this on Father’s Day. A day to celebrate Father’s but for me, it isn’t my day. It’s God’s Day. My Heavenly Father has loved me so well all these years. He gave me a model of love in Jesus and a set of written words to help me navigate the life I lead. Don’t get me wrong; I love being a husband and a father. It is truly a blessing, and I have endeavored to be good at both roles. To be the best I can be. But my life is not about me. Never has been and never should be. It’s about serving God, who placed me, placed you in a moment in time to make a difference, to love and be loved, and to do whatever we need to do for whoever it is we need to do it for.
When you reflect on your life, you focus on the entire picture, not just individual things. I am pretty sure you would be like Peter and John. You would praise your Heavenly Father because you would genuinely see a Father who has loved you so well all these years. A Father that has laughed, loved, cried, hurt, and enjoyed your ride with you. A Father who gave you the gift of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. A Father worthy of our praise not just on Father’s Day but every day our hearts beat.
So reflect on your life this Father’s Day or whatever day you read this. Try to remove any selfish view or some sense of entitlement to anything. Just look back at those times when you could have experienced God in your journey. Praise those moments. Talk about those moments with someone. Rejoice that you will always have a Father who loved you from the very first moment of your life and will be right with you through it all. Now that is something I can’t stop talking about. How about you?
Happy Father’s Day, Heavenly Father, and my other Father with you in heaven.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus. Thank you for the model He demonstrated. Thank you for bringing people into our lives that model what love can be like. Thank you for allowing me to be a father. Thank you for my father and all he did for me. Please help us stay focused on you and not this world. Thank you for everything. I pray this in the name of Jesus, my Savior, and Lord. Amen.
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