Who's Your Daddy? - October 16, 2006

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Matt. 26:63-64

The world’s system tends to devalue relationship. I believe we live in an “it’s about me generation”. The competitive environment found in many workplaces values one person over another. Also contributing to developing poor self-esteem among many is the betrayal of friends and family.

Many single-parent kids don’t know their biological fathers or have the support of a loving dad. Approximately 50-60% of our young people will grow up in a single-parent home at sometime in their lives.

Some people who have been abused by their fathers wish their dads never existed. Too many men forsake their families for the American Dream leaving children to deal with abandonment issues. Unfortunately, the by-product of all this is that many children can not answer the question, “who’s your daddy?”.

When confronted by the Pharisees and Sadducees, Jesus did not deny his Deity or that God was his Father. As the Son of God he often referred to his Father with the love and pride that grows a relationship. The same God Almighty that comforted his lovely son Jesus Christ also comforts each believer. He is a Daddy who knows no bounds and cares for His children.

Jesus often referred to God as Abba Father. “But because ye are sons, God has sent out the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. So thou art no longer bondman, but son; but if son, heir also through God.” (Gal. 4:6)

It is true that we, like Christ, have every right to claim our rich heritage as the children of God. As promised in scripture, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

“If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” 1 John 2:28-1 John 3:3

This true story helps us appreciate that we are all the children of God and we never have to be embarrassed to say, “I know my Daddy”.

A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg , TN. One morning, they were eating breakfast at a little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn't come over here." But sure enough, the man did come over to their table.

"Where are you folks from?" he asked in a friendly voice."Oklahoma," they answered. "Great to have you here in Tennessee," the stranger said. "What do you do for a living?" "I teach at a seminary," he replied.

"Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well! I've got a really great story for you." And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple.

The professor groaned and thought to himself, "Great ... Just what I need ... another preacher story!" The man started, "See that mountain over there? (pointing out the restaurant window). Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, 'Hey boy, Who's your daddy?' Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, 'Who's your daddy?'

He would hide at recess and lunchtime from other students. He would avoid going into stores because that question hurt him so bad." When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, 'Who's your daddy?' But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd.

Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, ‘Son, who's your daddy?’ The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, 'Who's your daddy?'

"This new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to that scared little boy ... "Wait a minute! I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God."

With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, "Boy, you've got a great inheritance. Go and claim it." "With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, 'Who's your Daddy?' he'd just tell them, 'I'm a Child of God.'"

The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, "Isn't that a great story?" The professor responded that it really was a great story! As the man turned to leave, he said, "You know, if that new preacher hadn't told me that I was one of God's children, I probably never would have amounted to anything!" And he walked away.

The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over & asked her, "Do you know who that man was -- the one who just left that was sitting at our table?"

The waitress grinned and said, "Of course. Everybody here knows him. That's Ben Hooper. He's the former governor of Tennessee !"

Someone in your life today needs a reminder that they're one of God's children. "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of God stands forever." ~~Isaiah

You're one of God's Children - have a great day!