Finding Dadનમૂનો

My wife and I love a good Netflix binge.  A particular series we’d become obsessed with was over the top.  Every episode ended with a gigantic cliff-hanger, forcing us to watch five minutes of the next episode so we could sleep that evening!  On the finale of season two, it ended with the most unlikely betrayal, a possible murder, and the resurgence of a character we thought was gone.  (Stop judging our TV choices.)  Desperate to find out what was going on, we searched for the next season.  It was nowhere to be found.  I googled the title and was instantly crushed.  The show had been cancelled.  We had no idea how this saga was going to end, and it has driven us crazy ever since!

When it comes to fatherhood and the conclusion of the Old Testament, I picture the Jews in the same tension.  The final verses of Malachi give the proposition of a blessing or a curse.  The prophet declares that Elijah’s preaching will either bring the hearts of the fathers back to their children or God will strike the land with a curse.  The end.

What comes next is the intertestamental period of 400 years.  Can you imagine your last words from God being, “Dad is either coming home to love you or you’re going to live in a curse"?

For too many of us, we know all too well what that tension looks like.  Living life as a child wondering if Dad is going to come home, come to our games, show up at our recitals, text us, call us, or simply send a birthday card can feel exactly how Malachi labeled it – a curse.

I know this curse all too well, and in future days, I’ll share more of my story with you.  But the most important place we land for today is the hope of God’s answer to this curse.

The 400 years of silence were broken by John the Baptist exploding onto the scene and announcing the arrival of Jesus.  The answer for the curse of fatherlessness is the same today.  The gospel breaks the curse, fills the void, and redeems the love we’ve longed for from Dad.  On this journey of finding Dad, we must realize that our only hope of breaking the curse is finding life in Christ.  The emptiness of waiting, wondering, and hoping is redeemed by the arrival of our spiritual Dad, Jesus.