When we allow the maker, who is above any name, to be placed in the position of Father, men have a better understanding of who they are supposed to be. Within the past year, I have come to some incredible revelations of how men are to be.
When we tackle the job of leader, we want to control everything ourselves. Take a prodigy who knows how to play all instruments in an orchestra and has been set forth as the conductor. What good would it do if the conductor constantly told himself, "I wish there were a hundred of me because I know I can do it better"? To possess this mentality builds up a wall of pride that in turn leaves no room to teach or to guide. When the conductor says, "I could do it all better," he is then set up to be angry at the players. After that, he becomes patronizing and belittles the players.
The One who created us knows everything. Everything is more than just the little sliver we can fathom in our minds. The difference between Him and the arrogant conductor is that our Maker is so patient that His goodness causes us to discover the truth without drilling it into our heads until we become numb to our throbbing skulls.
Philippians 1:6 - "He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ."
We have umpteen days to "get it right". We have many years to dwell and find out the poisons that this world brings. Once we see the turmoil and the distress of the people, we long for peace and rest. Some are drunken from riches, food, fame, etc and then there are those that find hope in death. That is the peace of the Father that we strive for.
The church falters many times. Many of us say to God, "Fix this..." or "Change that..." We can become anxious and say, "God when are you going to do something!" Rather than angrily screaming back at the church, He speaks in a still small voice which is the truth that grabs a hold of our hearts until we have no choice but to surrender ourselves to Him.
Here on Earth, however, we men become upset and tend to think that we should point out our wives flaws since they are so zealous to point out ours. The difference between man and woman is this: our wives are seeking stability and leadership in us just as the church seeks stability in the Father. We are not to be seeking stability from them.
If my wife sees a flaw in me, she tells me about it. I am just now beginning to realize that it is not because she is mad at me but because she wants security and if I want to be a good leader I have to recognize my flaws and seek maturity. That's what all wives want or should want. They want to know that their leader is leading them in the right direction. If not, they are going to let that leader know where they can improve.
In my stubbornness, I have fought back so many times but I finally have come to realize that my wife is begging me to lead. As any good leader does, a father should not angrily rebuke his wife for mistakes that she makes. Rather, in peace and love, he should seek out how to encourage her to break away from those mistakes. Fighting back with excuses is never going to get us anywhere. We should accept where we fail, make it right, and learn to direct our families in love.
Just as we all strive for that rest in our Father, our wives strive for rest in us. I truly believe, growing up, we are programmed to worship women. We are like that old wolf drooling at the lady singing on stage with his heart pounding out of his chest. We believe we have to worship our wives and tend to their every beck and call. The truth, however, is all our wives really want...is just want us.
This resembles the church. The Father doesn't worship the church. He helps it and guides is when it begins to falter. He patiently waits for the church to walk into His arms and say, "I have waited for You all my life." In parallel, deep down inside, our wives are saying, "I have waited to rest on your shoulders all day!"
The difference between earthly father and Heavenly Father is this: When our work is finished in one day, all we can think of is how we want our rest. When the Father's work is finished after this age, all He can think of is how joyful He is to see His church.
We should remember to always tend to our wives and children when we get home. TV can wait. News can wait. Music...I cringe but say...it can wait. Family: It can't wait. It won't wait. Every second is a chance to be the rest that our family needs. It's a chance to be the encouragement that our families need.
So where in the world do we find our encouragement? From the Lord Himself (and He is most definitely not in the world). We fall down on our knees or think upon His love every second of every hour. I will be one to admit that I have been lost and confused in this train of thought but maybe if I can pass it on, it will lay even more securely upon my heart, soul, and mind.
If we allow the Father to be Father, we can begin to understand, day by day, how the Maker of all things desires us to live. It takes time to turn away from everything we told ourselves and the defense mechanisms we built up for ourselves but we can let them fall away even faster when we run to the truth of who we were always supposed to be.
Matthew 5:48 - "You therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
