Our Present Father

Years ago, a song was written called “Cat’s in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin, and the theme of the song is about the loss of time and opportunity by a father who put off being a present father.

The song opens with the arrival of a child, but because the father had business to take care of, the father missed the child’s first steps and first words. And yet the child graciously said, “I’m gonna be like you dad” because the child admired his father. The song progresses through the business of life with the child inviting the preoccupied father to be present, to play ball, sit and talk and engage in life. All the while, the father puts off each invitation because he has so much to do.

Finally, when the child is all grown up, and the father has time to spend with his adult son, the son is now too busy for the father. It is then that the father realized that his son has grown up to be a father like him, too busy for a relationship. God is never too busy for a relationship.

We have a Father that is always available to us. Jesus taught us to pray, ““Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.” (Matthew 6:9, NASB95) The most common term that people of God use when addressing God is “our Father.” Not only did our Father in Heaven give us life, but He also wants to be intimate within our life. Our Father is present in every aspect of our life because He has created us, and He has given us the path that we should walk (Eph. 2:10). Our Father has provided to us unlimited access and the privilege of an intimate relationship where we can call out to Him, “Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”” (Galatians 4:6, NASB95)

Our Father in heaven is the model of a “Good Good Father!” In this fatherless society that struggles to develop a godly generation, may all fathers model their Heavenly Father and be present for their children the same way their Father is present for them.


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