I love my dad, but we didn’t always see eye to eye. What a shock! When I was in elementary school, my dad spent more time disciplining me than most anything else. Here’s the way it worked. If I got in trouble with my mom, she would chase me all the way under my bed with a fly swatter and called it discipline. Once the fly swatter connected with my thighs, I knew it was just a matter of time before something more severe would happen. Dad would come home. When he came home he always felt a need to add to the discipline already administered. So, not only were my thighs in pain, but my backside experienced additional pain as well. This was not abuse. It was the discipline of a loving dad. At the time, I thought it was abuse! Too bad 911 didn’t exist back then. I would have worn out that phone!
As I grew, my dad changed his methods to gradually allow me to exercise my own slightly flawed judgment. This didn’t happen overnight, but after many years of trying to teach me right from wrong. He allowed me to make mistakes along the way and still embraced me as his son. He cared for me and showed compassion at just the right times. He always demonstrated a strong work ethic and provided for us. But, there is one thing I didn’t realize until I had children of my own. A father’s love for his children is so strong that he would even die for them. I would. I would actually die for my children. That is how much I love them. It’s also how much Jesus loves us.
Isaiah refers to Jesus as the Everlasting Father. First, this means that Jesus always has and always will exist. We see that Jesus existed in eternity past and was present at and participated in creation.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made (John 1:1-3).
Second, we also know that He will always exist in heaven. With this being said, it is important to understand when Isaiah refers to Jesus as Father, he is not only referring to Jesus as God, but also to the character of Jesus. What does this mean to us? It means good news.
- A father is compassionate
- A father is caring
- A father disciplines
- A father protects what belongs to him
- A father is willing to die for his children
What is interesting about the above list is that Jesus possesses each of those traits. He just isn’t compassionate some of the time. He is an Everlasting Father. He just doesn’t care for us some of the time. He is an Everlasting Father. He just doesn’t discipline us some of the time. He is an Everlasting Father. He just doesn’t protect us some of the time. He is an Everlasting Father. He just doesn’t almost die for us. He actually did die for us. He is our Everlasting Father.