Mar 12 – Fatherly Love !

“As a man carries his son” (Numbers 11:12).

Our precious Lord is a loving and gracious Father to us. Because He is our Father forever, He is called the Everlasting Father (Isaiah 9:6).

What does “Everlasting Father” mean? It means He is Father yesterday, today, and forever. Through all eternity, He remains our Father. What a great blessing it is to have Him as our God and Father! He is the Father who carries us (Numbers 11:12).

First, a father carries his child upon his shoulders. The child places his little legs upon his father’s chest, sits proudly on his shoulders, and holds tightly to his father’s hair. The father walks while carrying the child. The child rides joyfully as though in a royal procession. Our precious Lord does not merely make us walk behind Him—He carries us!

Second, a father counsels his children. The Bible says: “As you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children” (1 Thessalonians 2:11–12).

Yes, God counsels us through His servants. He counsels us through His Word. All His counsel aims at our highest good. His guidance is pleasant, precious, and perfect.

Third, a father disciplines his children. Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, and it is the father’s responsibility to correct it. The Bible says: “For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights” (Proverbs 3:12).

Again we read: “Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness” (Hebrews 12:9–10).

Fourth, a father has compassion on his children (Job 31:18). Earthly fathers care deeply for the welfare of their children and strive to meet their needs. How much more does our heavenly Father, who loves us perfectly, care for us with tender compassion! What a privilege it is to have the Lord as our Everlasting Father.

Verse for further meditation: “As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him” (Psalm 103:13).