The Goal of the Father
A reflection on the Father’s desire to heal, restore, and awaken
I love asking God the big questions. I’ve learned he isn’t afraid of them; in fact, he invites them.
So, pretty often I hit him with, “God, what’s the point of all this? Why are we all here again?” And this is the most recent answer he gave me:
“My goal is that all of my kids come home and awaken to Christ in them, to perfect peace, perfect trust, perfect innocence.”
God’s goal is to heal people. You can trace this all the way back to his original intent to create the world for a wonderful, perfect, and beautiful garden of Eden. The word “Eden” in the Hebrew means delight.
He created us for perfect fellowship with him and one another.
And then God promised to Abraham that the whole world would be blessed through his family.
There has always been this desire from God that all his kids would be fully healed, fully well, and fully secure in his love.
On a practical level, what does this look like? It looks like humans who are healthy, humans who know God, humans who know they are God’s children and who live and act like it.
The Sermon on the Mount actually gives the blueprint of what this looks like. Not being anxious for the things of this world, praying for blessing over those who wrong you, having no lust in your eyes, no resentment in your heart. Bringing peace to people and situations. Being meek and merciful. There’s a lot more. Read Matthew 5-7. And read it through a lens of: this is my inheritance as God’s child.
The goal of the Father is for his kids to come home to him and walk in their freedom, joy, purity, and holiness.
To go from depression and heaviness to joy and praise.
To go from anxiety and worry to peace and stability.
To go from addiction to porn and drugs to freedom and satisfaction in the Spirit of God. To go from isolation and selfishness to a generous giving of yourself to those around you.
The Father uses so many things to accomplish this goal. He uses books to teach people. He uses music to awaken their hearts to him. Most of all he uses everyday people to encourage others toward Jesus.
It’s the kind greeting of a co-worker.
The warm hug of a family member.
The empowering words of a mom or grandma.
The joy of a father or uncle.
The teaching of scripture from a pastor.
The instagram video that reminds you Jesus is good.
It’s a never-ending plethora of things that the Father uses to accomplish his goal.
The local church is the community of people in your area who are awakened to God and living in the reality of being God’s kids. And they live like it. They pray, they worship, they love, they honor Scripture, and point to the redemption that’s in Christ.
God especially uses the local church community to strengthen one another. It could look like church services, small groups, worship gatherings, prayer gatherings, or Bible studies. It’s just people gathering with some small amount of intentionality to experience Jesus together.
Oftentimes it’s simply friendship and the art of simple conversation with one another that God uses to heal and strengthen hearts.
The Father will reach his goal. With us or without us. But he definitely enjoys our participation with him.
Here are some practical ways to participate:
Be a friend to other people. Don’t wait for them to be your friend. Be their friend. Be the one who reaches out.
Pray for people. Keep the prayers simple, empowering, and filled with blessing and promise. Don’t overcomplicate it. Prayers like, “Father thank you for your daughter (fill-in-the-blank). Thank you that she is fearfully and wonderfully made. Thank you that you have purpose for her life. Father continue to bless her and her family in every way. Thank you that you will complete the work you began in her. Father thank you that she is covered by the blood of Jesus from her head to her toe. Allow her to continue to walk in confidence, joy, and purpose. To be a light to those around her. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Encourage people. Listen to them. Listen to the hard stuff. Let them know they’re not alone. We fight our battles together through prayer and believing together, persevering and enduring hardship. Trusting that God will get us through and will have the final say.
Point people to Jesus. Send them a text. Have them over the house. Meet up with them at the coffee shop.
Lead a small group. Go through books of the Bible together or go through a curriculum together. Be involved in the lives of children. Be an example to them. Play and have fun with them.
Father, thank you that you are good. Thank you that you truly want all people to come home to you. To awaken to the reality of being your kids. To live in the blessing of being loved by you. To live in freedom from addiction and all wrongdoing. To live healthy, happy, and free.
To experience the joy of knowing you. The joy of trusting you and being your kid. Thank you Father for your heart. Thank you Jesus for washing us in the water and in your blood, and making us new. Restoring our innocence and purity. Holy Spirit, continue to have your way in us. Continue to teach us what it means to be God’s kids. To love like him. To be like him. To be holy like him. God we love you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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