Marks of Methodism Series
Part 1: God and Wesley
Text: Luke 15:11-32
Title: God the Father
The impact of our fatherless society
“What’s wrong with the children these days?” Children aren’t like they used to be.” Have you heard that recently? Chances are you have. As our world changes, so have the lives of our children. And unfortunately, it seems like it has taken a turn for the worst. But what’s the problem? Is it because of the education system? Is it because the church programs aren’t good enough? Is it the President’s fault? Why are our children struggling in school? Why aren’t there many children, teenagers, and young adults in the church anymore? What’s the problem? Many times, the problem is the missing father.
Fathers are important because they are the adults that their children see. They watch them and then they try to emulate them. What they see from their father greatly affects their lives. If their father treats their mother with respect, chances are great that they will also treat their spouse with respect. If their father is faithful in reading the bible and going to church, chances are high that their children will also. A father has a great responsibility in the lives of their children. And if the father isn’t there, then there responsibility will be replaced by something else. I have often heard teachers say that their student’s parents expect them to raise their child and every time they make a bad grade or get into trouble they want to blame the teacher. Studies have shown that the average child watches four hours of tv per day while having just 19 minutes of quality time per day with a working parent. 4 hours vs. 19 minutes. I wonder who’s raising that child? What a great responsibility a father has. As the father goes, so goes the family. The lifestyle of the father greatly affects how the family lives.
Differing views on God
How we view our heavenly Father also affects how we live. More specifically, how we live reflects who our God is. Do we give the world our best time and give God the leftovers? Are we like the child, deceived into thinking that our heavenly father is raising us when in fact the television is? We can claim to worship a specific God, but the truth comes to light by our actions. Is the God of the bible, the loving, active, providing, and forgiving Father our God? We may say that He is, but it’s not what we say, it’s how we live. That’s what matters. A father can say that they take care of their children but that doesn’t matter. What matters is their actions, not their words. In the same way, we can say who our God is, but who our God is can only be seem through our actions.
Unfortunately, the church is full of people who claim to worship the Christian God yet live like atheists, as if God isn’t involved in their lives. We may suggest that God is most important to us, but a quick glance at our schedules and how we spend our time might speak otherwise. We claim to worship God and God alone, but the truth is we struggle with idols everyday. What’s an idol? An idol is something that replaces God in your life. It’s that thing that causes you to rely on your own strength. It’s that thing that you consistently skip church to go to. It’s that thing that fills your mind all day. That’s your God. In the same way that our fathers greatly affect our lives, how we view God also affects how we live.
God the Father
Above all characteristics of God, probably the main way that John Wesley described God was as a Father. This way of approaching God was modeled for us by Jesus. Whenever Jesus taught us to pray, he said to pray like this: “Our Father, who art in heaven.” Whenever Jesus prayed for himself, his church, and the world in John 17, he called God “Father.” And whenever he was in his darkest hour in the Garden of Gethsemane, moments before his betrayal and journey to the cross, he cries out to God, “Abba, Father, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will, but yours.” Through the way that Jesus approached God, it showed how intimate of a relationship that he had with God and wanted to model for us. God, the Father.
For most of us, we can relate to seeing God as a Father. It reminds us of our fathers growing up and their roles in our lives. But for some people, seeing God as father can be a bad thing. Unfortunately, some people didn’t have a good father figure or a father figure at all. For some, seeing God as father can bring up images of a strict, abusive father. Or for those without a father, they may see God as distant and uninvolved: The person who we always talk about at the dinner table, but know very little about. What great pressure to put on fathers! Couldn’t Jesus just call God mother! That would take off a lot of pressure for us fathers. After all, God isn’t a male nor female, why must Jesus describe God as father? Of course, we men can’t ever live up to God.
But we are the best that our children have. Without us, who will model the love of God for them? Without us, who will teach them about God? Without us, who will welcome them home when they stray? Without us, who will prepare a feast for them in exchange for their meal with pigs? Without us, who will offer them forgiveness? Feeling the pressure yet?
God the Loving, Active Father
John Wesley sees God as father, more specifically as a loving, active father. God being a God of love isn’t really a distinctive view of God for Wesley. All Christian denominations believe that. But it’s that God is loving and active in our lives that makes Wesley distinctive. God didn’t just create the world, create our purpose, and then leave us. No, God creates us and continues to be active in our lives. One of a Wesleyan’s critiques of the Purpose Driven Life book is the idea in the book that God created a specific blueprint for our lives and navigates us to fulfill it. God has written our story and it’s up to us to figure it out. That’s not much different that a father deciding that his child will be a pro baseball player and forcing him to play, even if he doesn’t want to. The problem with this view is that it takes God out of the picture. God created, now it’s up to us to discover the blueprint. It also takes away our response. John Wesley believes that when one becomes a Christian they become a participant with the trinity. There’s no blueprint. There’ no single purpose. I can remember when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and destroyed the lives of millions. Trying to offer encouragement, good Christian people would say something like this: “God has a purpose for allowing this to happen. It may be bad, but God will teach us something through this.” This suggests that God is willing to ruin the lives of millions of people just to teach us something. Sure, God made the best of the situation. But God doesn’t cause bad things to happen. Sin causes bad things to happen. God has given us the gift of freedom in the world. Since we have freedom and are sinful, many times we are destructive. Thankfully God works with us to guide us with grace and to grace.
When we accept Christ and enter into the faith, we enter into a relationship. Sure, God may have a calling for us, but he also invites us to participate. What makes Methodist doctrine unique is that we believe in response. We believe that salvation is about responding to a loving, active God. A God who doesn’t write a story and push us in certain directions, but a God who guides us and allows us to participate. I believe that God called me to be a preacher. I don’t know that I would have been happy doing anything else. But I also think that if I decided to not be a preacher, God could use me somewhere else. Same with you. God gives us a choice. God is in control, but we participate. God has a will, but as a loving child we participate. God loves us and we respond.
God the Providing/forgiving Father
Another characteristic of God emphasized by John Wesley is that of provider and forgiver.
Trying to be our own God.
Earlier we mentioned that we can tell who are God is not by what we say, but how we live. Our actions tell us who God is to us. I think that our greatest temptation is to put ourselves on the throne of our lives.
The prodigal son left his father’s house and tried to do things on his own. It didn’t take long for him to realize the mistake that he made. When the wealth and power was in his hands, he squandered it. We can be the same way. Whenever we try to take control of our lives, be our own God, and leave the father’s house, we too end up in a mess. Instead of feasting at the Lord’s table, we end up eating with the pigs. Instead of eating fresh bread, we dream about just eating the crumbs that fall from the table.
It’s when we realize that we are God’s that we find joy. It’s when we learn to rely on our heavenly father that we find joy and happiness. God is our provider and when we take matters into our own hands we can get into trouble. Right now, the economy is bad. People are losing their jobs and others are nervous that they are next. At annual conference we learned that even the church is not immune to the recession. Yet, what better time than any for us to dethrone ourselves and put God on the throne of our lives? Do we believe that God will provide for us? It’s easy to say it, but it only comes true when we live it. God is our provider and sometimes our comfort and security can give us the impression that we are somehow in control. Now that the economy is shaky, let this be a time when we turn to God and believe his word.
Fathers (and soon to be fathers), we have a great responsibility. But we aren’t alone. In same way that our children rely on us, let us rely on God. Because we can’t model someone that we don’t know. Amen.
