[Read Isaiah 9:6]
So far, we have looked at two different names of the Messiah—Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God. Understanding the Messiah as Wonderful Counselor helps us recognize that He is the one who can provide ultimate guidance for our lives, leading us on the path of life. Understanding the Messiah as Mighty God helps us recognize that He is the powerful one whose power is made perfect in our weakness. You could summarize these very simplistically by saying that the Messiah will be strong and smart.
Yet, there’s a missing ingredient in order for these characteristics to be helpful for us. How many of you know someone who is strong and smart but bring no comfort into your life? I’m certain that all of us have encountered someone like this over the years. We know they are really smart and could give us good advice. We know they are really strong and bold and courageous and can help lead us when we are weak. Yet, they don’t seem to be helpful for us. Why?
It’s because they don’t really care about us. Someone who is really smart can give you advice all day long about the right things to do, but if they don’t really care about you, then their advice will not be helpful. Someone who is bold and courageous and strong, can “lead the charge” into uncharted territory, but if they don’t care about you, then they will most likely lead you into places you shouldn’t be going. Being Smart and Strong are not enough. We need someone who is Smart, Strong, and Caring.
That’s why the Messiah has this third name—Everlasting Father. He is not only able to lead us on the path of life, and able to strengthen us when weak, but He also really cares for us like a Father. In 1 Peter we are told to “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7, NIV). The Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, is an Everlasting Father who cares for us.
That’s a powerful thing to understand in the midst of life. God cares for you like a father. When you find yourself in the midst of turmoil and stress, it’s important to remember that God cares for you like a father. When you find yourself down in the pit, feeling like God has left you for dead, don’t forget that God cares for you like a father. He hasn’t left you for dead. He cares for you and will pull you out of the pit in his perfect timing. You can trust Him to do that because He cares for you like a father. He takes no pleasure in watching you in the pit. If he hasn’t pulled you out yet, it’s because he has a reason. How can you know that? Because He cares for you like a father.
Do you see how powerful that is in walking us through life? Really, truly embracing—deep down in the core of your being—that God cares for you will help you through all of the ambiguities of life. Life doesn’t always make sense. We don’t always know why God does the things He does. Yet, we do know one thing…God cares for us like a father. It doesn’t matter what is happening or whether it makes any sense. We can grab hold of this truth that God cares for us like a Father.
This is the reason why Jesus has us begin by praying “Our Father…” I love the way the Heidelberg Catechism answers this question. It asks, “Why did Christ command us to call God ‘Our Father’?” It answers the question by saying, “To awaken in us at the very beginning of our prayer what should be basic to our prayer—a childlike reverence and trust that through Christ God has become our Father, and that just as our parents do not refuse us the things of this life, even less will God our Father refuse to give us what we ask in faith.” (Q&A 120).
After studying this question of the catechism, I changed the way I began my prayers. I used to begin by saying, “Dear Lord…” Yet, that didn’t remind me of the care of the Father when I came to him in prayer. A Lord is more distant and removed. A Father is close. That’s why Jesus told us to begin our prayers by saying, “Our Father in Heaven…” or “Heavenly Father…” because we need to be reminded on a regular basis—every time we pray—that God is a Father to us and that He cares for us and that He is looking out for our good.
Throughout scripture there are various roles given to fathers (This isn’t going to be a sermon on being a good father, per se, but fathers probably should pay attention. We can learn a lot from our Heavenly Father). After reading through a number of summaries of these roles, the one I found most helpful is that fathers are called to provide and protect. They are called to provide for their families and protect their families. Not only do I find that helpful in showing me my primary duties, but it is also helpful in understanding God as our Father.
In James it says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17, NIV). Every good and perfect gift is provided for you from the Father. Every good gift. So, when you step back and take a moment to think about your life, and you begin to think about the good gifts that you have—they were given to you by the Father. Even the gifts we often take for granted—beating hearts and breathing lungs. These are gifts from the Father.
He is a good provider for his people. In 2 Peter we read, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness…” (2 Peter 1:3, NIV). Everything we need has been given to us by our Heavenly Father. Everything. Because he is a good provider. He provides everything we need for life. He provides everything we need for godliness.
Just last week I was talking to someone whose finances were getting tight—which is typical around Christmas. They voiced their concern and we talked about it a little bit. Then they said, “You know what, though? God has always provided. We’ve had so many times when we were running short, weren’t sure we were going to pay the bills, when some unexpected finances arrived or something sold or…” I had to agree with them because I’ve experienced the same thing over and over and over again throughout my life. Our Heavenly Father is a good provider for His people. We can trust Him to give us everything that we NEED—that’s an important word—for life and godliness.
While I’m on the topic of our Heavenly Father giving us everything we NEED, I like to tell a story. When Rachel and I were first married, she was going to school and I was watching the kids during the slow months of the dock business. I was also heavy into photography—doing numerous art shows. So, I would feed the kids breakfast and then take them out on photo expeditions. One day we were driving through a wildlife area and I saw a huge black bear. I was really excited to get some photos of the bear. It was also a cool opportunity to show my kids a bear in the wild. So, I was showing them the bear and taking lots of pictures. Eventually, I heard a sweet little voice from the back seat say, “Daddy?” “Yes, sweetheart?” “Can I pet the bear?” So, because I’m a good father, I pulled her out of the carseat and brought her out to pet the bear right? NO! I explained that if she tried to pet the big black bear, she would die. Because I was a good father, I was not going to give her what she wanted.
Jesus teaches the same thing after teaching his disciples the Lord’s Prayer. He says, “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11–13, NIV). In saying this, he is also saying, “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a scorpion would give him a scorpion? Or if you daughter asks to pet a bear, will let her pet a bear?” The point is that we know that being a good parent means telling our children NO. Our Heavenly Father knows this more than we do. He truly knows how to give good gifts to his children—and to say NO to the poor gifts we ask for.
That’s part of his Protecting role, isn’t it? It’s interesting to see how the role of Provider and Protector fit together. In refusing to provide us with certain things we ask for, God is actually protecting us.
Another way God protects us is through correction. In Proverbs it says, “My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.” (Proverbs 3:11–12, NIV). Since God loves us and cares for us like a Father, he protects us by disciplining us. He protects us by rebuking us and confronting our sins. If he didn’t do these things—if he let us wander down the path of sin and destruction—he wouldn’t truly love us. He wouldn’t truly be our Father because He wouldn’t be protecting us. Yet, He does care for us and does want what’s best for us, so he corrects us when we go astray and leads us back to the path of life.
Yet, the Father protects us in other powerful ways. Just listen to Psalm 121: “I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and for evermore.” (Psalm 121, NIV). Our Heavenly Father is walking with us every step of the way, protecting us—keeping us from all harm, watching over our life. We can find comfort in that. God is watching over us every step of the way, protecting us. Parents, find comfort in the fact that God is watching over your children, every step of the way, protecting them. He’s protecting us and them because He cares for us like a Heavenly Father.
Interestingly, though, this name is given to the Messiah—who is Jesus Christ. It can be confusing because, primarily, Jesus is identified as the Son. Yet, the prophecy says that he will be called Everlasting Father. Why? Because Jesus will provide for and protect his people. That’s why he was born. What a contrast. The child lying in the manger is the Everlasting Father—the one who will provide for and protect God’s people. The Everlasting Father providing everlasting life.
Ultimately, Jesus protects His people from themselves. He protects us from ourselves and our own sin. Left to ourselves, and our sinful nature, we would destroy ourselves. So, Jesus was born into the world, to live a perfect life, and to die a perfect death in order to conquer sin, cleanse us from sin, and protect us from its devastating effects on us and the world. Yet, he is also a provider, because he not only died for the forgiveness of our sins, but lived a perfect life and rose again from the dead in order to provide us with righteousness and eternal life. And he did all of this—all of this protecting and providing—because he cares for us like an Everlasting Father.