Just Like Your Father: Second Thursday of Advent

The Son of God became a man to enable men to become the Sons of God. We do not know...how things would have worked if the human race had never rebelled against God and joined the enemy.... You and I are concerned with the way things work now.
~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p178

Wouldn't it be great if the best compliment you could give a friend was, "You are just like your father." Unfortunately these days, if you remark that someone is just like their father, it's a derogatory comment. For several reasons, dads overall aren't doing a very good job of demonstrating strong moral character to their sons and daughters. Children are becoming like their parents - but it's resulting in ethically weak, relationally confused, small-minded adults.

But the implication for the Incarnation for us is that we would know God as our Father in a new way. Jesus as the Son of God became one of us that we might become sons and daughters of our Father in Heaven. Christmas is about the beginning of a new kind of relationship with God and others through Jesus. When we consider our own lives, our moral deficiencies, our sinful attitudes, our addictions and weaknesses, we accept our need for help. We need help in the form of imitation - a new model to pattern our lives after, but also help in the form of influence - we need a new power to move us in the right direction.

Ideally for us, our Dads become a powerful model to imitate. Through their presence in our lives, through their demonstration of integrity and capability in the midst of complex situations, in observing their maturing moral character (which means they can say "I'm sorry" and can forgive you), we gain a influential picture of our own future. We become like our parents, or else we react against them (which creates new ways in which we subtly become like our parents...). So what would it take to become like our Dad in Heaven?

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.... No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
John 1v12,18 (NIV)

To trust the words of Jesus, to believe in his works, to have faith that his way is the wisest of all - this is core to becoming like our Father in Heaven. Jesus is our model for becoming a Son of God, he is also the one who makes it possible. Our letting Jesus teach us to forgive, to repent, to serve, to lead, to love, to give sacrificially, to be wise, to be courageous, to be truthful, to be strong, to be weak - all we learn from Jesus the Son of God helps us become like God our Father. Why wouldn't you want this?

For some of you, one of your great fears is to become like your father. You are ashamed of your father, embarrassed by him, full of disgust for him. Others of you have become indifferent to your father, ignoring his presence, moving on without him. Or you now have to put up with a dad you don't really respect, you don't really know what to do with, and yet he's still there. Let God the Father do some renewing and healing work in you this Christmas towards your flawed dad.

The Son of God became a human to enable men and women to become Sons and Daughters of God. The expectation is that people would remark about us, "You are just like your Father!" And when they do, they will be referring to your acts of forgiveness and reconciliation, of repentance and healing, of servanthood and leadership, of sacrifice and love.