EX-FATHER?

My home page on the internet is Google News. I saw an article on Lindsey Lohan where she refers to her father as "my ex-father." Lindsey's mother also refers to her ex-husband as Lindsey's "ex-father." That got me thinking: is it possible to be an "ex-father"? One can be a distant father, a bad father, an uninvolved father, an "I never want you in my life father," but not an "ex-father." Ironically, Lindsey looks like her father - the facial characteristics are unmistakeable. She is the product of his DNA. His life lives in her. She can't escape that.

Many people who once sincerely professed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who were adopted into God's family as sons and daughters, get to a point where they start acting like God is their "ex-Father." When His life has in-dwelt us and given us His Spirit and called us His sons and daughters, we can be a prodigal son or daughter, a bad son or daughter, but not a former son or daughter. God will not be an "ex-Father," but a grieving Father.

We can get to the point where we no longer resemble in any way a son or daughter of our Heavenly Father. Like the loving father in Jesus' story of the Prodigal Son, God will keep looking lovingly for us and keep working to draw us back to Him before we completely destroy our lives - while there is still hope for us.

If we live removed from our Heavenly Father, going our own way and doing our own thing long enough, we may doubt that He ever was our Father - and perhaps He wasn't. Perhaps there was never a saving faith in Who He Is and What He has done through His Son for us. Even if there was a saving faith, the doubts created by living apart from Him for so long will make it seem like He was never our Father.

God's desire is that our lives would conform to His image - that people would see the resemblance and honor Him for what they see of Him in us. He will not be an "ex-Father."