Identity

This Is My Dad

Published November 9, 2011 | By Cornel

This is my dad. In 1 month’s time I get to see him again. (Along with the rest of the family of course.) I haven’t been home in 5 years. My dad is stronger than your dad. Haha. No, seriously. He is.

My Dad has made many extremely huge personal sacrifices in order for me to enjoy life and live out my dream and purpose. Admittedly, I was a typical teenager growing up and I am sure I made him grey before his time, but no matter how big of a mess I made, my Dad always helped me get out of that mess. We have also had our share of fights, arguments and disagreements (99% my fault…) just like any normal father and son do. But one thing that I will never forget about my Dad is that he found it extremely difficult to punish me. I think I can only remember 3 times in my whole life that he gave me a hiding. (And I gave him ample opportunity to improve on that number…) The school principal beat me more in a week than my Dad did his entire life.

Yet my Dad’s amazing love for me pales in comparison to my Father’s irrevocable love for me. If my Dad found it hard to punish me, how much more difficult was it for God to punish Jesus? Especially since Jesus was innocent! Far too many people see God as this vengeful angry God who lives for punishing disobedience and Jesus is just the poor punching bag who can take the hit for us. Jeff Turner uses the example to show how some see God almost like an evil step-father who comes home drunk and wants to beat his younger son but big brother Jesus pushes his little brother out of the way and lets drunk dad take out his anger on him. Jesus didn’t save you from the Father! The Father, in Jesus saved you from sin!

I think I need to say that again. Jesus didn’t come to save you from the Father. The Father was never out to get you, kill you or destroy you. The Father, in Jesus came to save you. His wrath and His anger was not kindled against you. It was kindled against that which was harming you, His wrath was against sin. Sin was punished in Jesus’ body. God’s wrath was poured out on sin. When the Bible says Jesus is our only mediator between God and man, we often think of God on one side, we are on the other and Jesus in the middle trying to hide us behind him so God won’t see our mistakes and switch over to kill-mode. That is utter nonsense.

For God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself! When you mess up God is not suddenly angry again and Jesus has to then quickly run and remind Him that you are forgiven.

Jesus: “No Father, don’t kill them, you already killed me in their place!”

The Father: ‘Oh, yes. That’s right. I like you. I don’t like them, but if they are in you I like them too. Thanks for reminding me. Phew! I almost killed them that time!’

Do people honestly think the Father and the Son have such opposing agendas? That God is out for vengeance and Jesus is just trying to hold Him back? No! If that were true there would be an inter-trinitarian breakdown of unimaginable consequence! The Father and Jesus have the same will! One is not reminding the other to not destroy and curse us because we just can’t seem to get it right.

If there is anything the church needs to repent of (change their mind about) it will be in regards to how they view the Father. They see God as the bad-cop out to get us because of His justice and Jesus as the good-cop trying to save us because of His love. Love and justice are not opposing forces! Love and justice work together in your favour! The Father justly punished sin because He loves you! And then He united His Spirit with your spirit to ever testify to that fact and to remind you of His goodness and favour every second of the day!

The goodness of God leads to repentance. That means when you realize how good the Father is you will change your mind about how you see Him, approach Him, interact with Him and live with Him! HE IS ALWAYS GOOD! And not only is He ALWAYS GOOD, HE IS ALWAYS GOOD TO ME!

This is my Father, and I love Him with my entire being! This is my Dad and I love him just as much!

Cornel

Posted in Father's Heart, Identity, Maturity | 4 Comments

Is God Wearing Jesus-Glasses?

Published November 1, 2011 | By Cornel

Is God wearing Jesus-glasses? Is God looking at you through these glasses that block out your sin and shortcomings so He only sees Jesus instead of you? I highly doubt it. I myself have said this and believed this in the past but thankfully now I know God does not wear Jesus-glasses, and He is also not playing Jesus-dress-up. When He looks at you He looks at you. He sees you as perfect, holy, righteous, sanctified and just. Yes, you. He is looking straight at you. Not through Jesus, not with Jesus ‘covering’ all your bad spots. Straight at you!

If God were wearing Jesus-glasses and these glasses were hiding your shortcomings so God couldn’t see them and then treat you like He would Jesus, it means you still have shortcomings. It would mean you are merely living under the illusion of being perfected while underneath it all you are still imperfect. God is not playing make-believe. Jesus didn’t create blind spots in God’s vision on the cross so He wouldn’t see your imperfections and sins. No! He took them all away! That means you can stand in front of God in full assurance of faith that you are accepted, righteous, beloved, holy and perfect because you don’t need Him to wear Jesus-glasses.

What Jesus did perfected you. It didn’t place a perfect image of Christ over you to make God not see your imperfections. It perfected you. You are perfected through Christ! When God looks at you He doesn’t see Jesus in your place, He sees you as you. The unique redeemed individual being He created you to be. He doesn’t need Jesus-glasses to look at you because you were created in His righteousness and true holiness.

In the same way you don’t need to wear a Jesus-mask before God. He is not interested in you wearing a Jesus-mask. He is interested in you. Trying to wear a Jesus-mask is just being religious all over again, trying to hide your apparent shortcomings behind a mask. You don’t have shortcoming to hide! You are fully accepted! Believe it!

“But Cornel, I still mess up.” I know. Me too. And guess what, you will also mess up tomorrow, and the day after and the day after that. And not for one inkling of a second does that change anything about how God sees you, thinks about you, feels towards you, acts towards you or desires things for you. Because of Jesus your messes are no longer an issue between you and God. But as long as you try to cover up something that isn’t even there, you are denying what Jesus did and missing out on a deeper intimacy with your ever-loving Father!

Get intimate with your Dad because you are worthy and qualified and your messes will disappear as a result. Don’t try to qualify yourself or make yourself worthy. Jesus did that already! If you think God has to wear Jesus-glasses to relate to you, you still don’t see who He created you to be.

YOU ARE HIS BELOVED!

Cornel