One of Webster’s definitions is ‘he who creates’
Today, I went to a baby shower. My nephew has fathered a child. We are all excited, my sister especially. This will be her first grandchild. It is a boy. My nephew and his wife are anxious to see and hold this new creation. They are to be the parents, not just children of their own parents.
Fathering doesn’t stop there. Planting the seed is the easy part. It’s the rest of the story that is challenging. In fact, the rest of the story is the most vital part.
Those of us who follow Jesus call God our Father.
God most certainly created. Everything. You. Me. And little Eli, yet to be born from his mother’s womb.
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…”(Jer. 1:5)
And He continues in fathering us.
Just as little Eli will be nurtured, so does God nurture us.
Jesus Christ ushered in our birth….our new birth. The most vital birth.
“…what counts is a new creation..”(Gal. 6:15)
“ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17)
Being born a human child starts the process. Our parents love us and guide us along the way as we grow up, teaching, mentoring, correcting, disciplining.
Being re-born and becoming a mature child of God is also a process.
In a perfect world, human fathers always do the right thing. (…sadly, we don’t live in a perfect world, not since Eden.)
“ Flesh gives birth to flesh…….
but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”(John 3:6)
“ For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”( 1 Peter 1:23)
Thank You Father…..for continuing to father me. For nurturing, teaching, mentoring, correcting, even for the discipline.
And thank you for this new life coming into our family. Bless these young parents, give them wisdom and guidance as they take responsibility for this tender new life.
