Everlasting Father

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

We have looked at the first two descriptions of the Messiah given in this wonderful passage by the Prophet Isaiah.  Today we will look at the third, Everlasting Father. Truly great is the mystery of godliness!  Throughout Scriptures we see glimpses of God that seem to overwhelm us.  Many doctrines and theologies have tried to explain God but they all seem to give us a blurry picture of something too big to fit in the lens of mans camera.  Consider John 1:1-4

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men. “

Jesus was with God and He was God.  We don’t say of ourselves that we were with us. I am here.  I can’t be with me because I am me.  So this passage seems to infer that Jesus and God can exist together in the same place yet it clearly states that Jesus was God.  If it sounds like I am going in circles, well, great is the mystery of godliness.  My purpose today is not to try and settle the differences between the Oneness Theology and the Trinity Theology.  I have looked at them both in detail and honestly it is not critical to my salvation.  It is not worth the time to argue.  I have wonderful friends that are Oneness and others that are Trinitarian.  Both sides believe that Jesus died for our sins, was buried and resurrected, caught up into Heaven and is coming soon.  Enough said!

The Prophet calls Jesus Everlasting Father and that tells us about who He is in relation to us.  He is everlasting.  His kingdom will know no end.  He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.  Before the world Jesus was and when there is nothing left but cosmic dust He will remain.  I know that I can depend on Jesus.  There will never come a day that He will not be with me.  Because He is eternal I know that His promises to me are eternal.  I don’t know about you but that stirs a firestorm within my soul.  I can’t completely understand why but there is a part of me that needs “everlasting”.  All that I have and all that I survey in this life has a beginning and end.  I know that there is a timer ticking away on every relationship, every possession, every day.  But with Jesus that knowledge is wiped away and the fear that it creates is vanquished.

Jesus is the everlasting Father!  In this day and age with absentee father’s it is easy to forget what that means to us.  Father’s love their children.  They give their lives for them and labor so that every need is met.  Father’s lead us and guide us in the path that we should travel.  They are not tyrants but they are the givers of life.  Jesus came that we might have life.  He came to show us the way. He came so that we might have life and more abundantly.  He doesn’t want us to barely survive, Jesus wants us to thrive.

As you say the words, Everlasting Father, I invite to you trust in Jesus.  If He is for you, who can be against you?

My Son

Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

      When Jesus talked to God He always called Him “Abba”. That does not translate to Father, which is a more formal version of the word. It instead is best translated “Daddy”. I grew up in a very loving home where we called our Father “Daddy”. He was our hero and would never miss an opportunity to tell us how much he loved us and that we were the best at whatever it was we were doing. His love and support helped shape his children’s lives in ways that are still bearing much fruit.

      While each of the kids had a given name there was something special when Daddy would call me Son. I was his. His blood was flowing through my veins and his name was mine. I loved it when he called me Son.

      In our verse today the blessing of the Peacemaker is that they are called the “Children of God”. When God looked down at Jesus and stated from the heavens, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” There was no doubt about the authority and position of Jesus. God had placed His seal over Christ’s life.

      We are Peacemakers because our hearts have been renewed by the blood of Jesus. The cross has made a difference in us and New Life has begun. Being a Peacemaker is the way that God’s Children behave. This explanation almost becomes circular. We are born of God and as such we are Peacemakers. We are Peacemakers and so God calls us His children.

      The tense and voice of the proclamation tells us that it is God who is doing the calling. We are not the Sons of God because our Pastor or Priest tells us. We are the Sons of God because Daddy Himself has called us His children. The same voice that spoke the stars into existence and set the world in place has spoken to us. He calls us His own.

      Now that is a reason to rejoice!