Heavenly Father vs. Earthly Father
Our society likes to pretend that every greeting card holiday is a positive experience for everyone. But in reality, for some of us, certain holidays are tough.
And if, like me, you grew up with an abusive dad, it’s likely that Father’s Day isn’t a holiday that’s desirable or easy for you.
With our experiences, Father’s Day is not so much a celebration as it is a reminder of the kind of father we never had.
The one that loved us rather than be cruel to us. The one that protected us rather than harmed us. The one that made us feel cherished and safe versus small and unwanted.
Now, the good news is that while we don’t all get to experience a loving earthy father, we all have that kind of Heavenly Father. In fact, God - being sovereign, all-powerful, holy, and the embodiment of love - is naturally a thousand times better than even the best earthly father.
Yet, because we experienced having an abusive dad, it can be difficult to see God as the Heavenly Father that He truly is.
The fatherly image that we’ve come to know is a distorted picture of what an earthly dad should be. And what happens? We naturally transfer that distorted image onto God. We assume that God is similar.
Or, at the very least, our knowledge and experiences from having an abusive dad makes it more challenging to clearly see who God truly is. Which therefore makes it more difficult to understand and accept His unconditional love for us, etc.
A New Type of Father’s Day
If everything I’ve just described sounds very familiar, you are in the right place!
Starting this Sunday, I want you to experience a new kind of Father’s Day! Whether you’re still struggling to understand who God is or simply long to feel His love more acutely.
Father’s Day doesn’t have to continue being a painful reminder of the past and the earthly father you wished you’d had.
Instead, you can reclaim it as a time to connect with the amazing Heavenly Father you do have! Learn, grow, and feel His love more deeply all at the same time.
How can you do that? Let’s look at three creative ways that you bask in His unconditional love this weekend.
1. Binge Watch The Chosen
If you’re not already familiar with the TV series The Chosen, I highly recommend that you check it out.
What is it? Well, The Chosen “is a groundbreaking historical drama based on the life of Jesus Christ, seen through the eyes of those who knew him. Set against the backdrop of Roman oppression in first-century Israel, the seven-season show shares an authentic and intimate look at Jesus’ revolutionary life and teachings.”
Now you might be wondering, “Why are you suggesting a show about Jesus when we’re talking about the unconditional love of our Heavenly Father?”
Because Jesus is a reflection of the Father in human form. In fact, in John 14:9 (NLT), Jesus says, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!”
I know from experience that, when you’ve had an abusive dad, it can be hard to even accept that you have a Heavenly Father. Let alone that His character is different - and that He loves us unconditionally.
It’s almost like the name “Heavenly Father” is a detriment to learning about God and building that safe, loving, and intimate relationship with Him.
If that’s the case for you, then a great way to overcome that difficulty is to focus on Jesus. It removes the internal struggle or anxiety over the Father issue yet, because Jesus mirrors God in human form, you still get to see who God is.
And the more you learn about God’s genuine character and His love for you, the less of an impediment it will be that you’ve had an abusive earthly father. In other words, as you learn how vastly different the two are, the more you’ll feel comfortable with God.
You can certainly read about Jesus in the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But we’re also a very visual culture.
That’s why I recommend watching The Chosen. It’s a high-quality production all-around, and the team is serious about aligning with the Bible as much as possible. And where they need to take some creative license (being that the Bible omits a lot of details), they ensure that it’s at least biblically and historically plausible.
As a side note, I also love how (from the first episode) the show depicts how Jesus treated women - which was different from the culture at the time.
You can watch The Chosen on Amazon Prime. In fact, the first two episodes of Season 5 (which is the latest season) drop this Sunday on Father’s Day.
There’s also a free Chosen app that includes all of the available seasons plus a ton of free content.
To learn more, go to TheChosen.tv.
2. Feel the Love with These 5 Podcast Episodes
If you’re going to be out-and-about this weekend (making it hard to binge watch The Chosen), or if you’re looking for something that will purposefully help you dial into God’s love for you, I’ve curated a list of five God’s Love for Women podcast episodes that would be perfect for you.
These will help you to better understand, recognize, and feel God’s love this Father’s Day weekend - and equip you for continued breakthrough.
Keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need to listen to all five episodes; simply choose the top one or two that resonate the most with you.
Episode 177 - Struggling to Trust that God Really Loves You? Use These 2 Hacks to Increase Your Confidence and Faith
Episode 176 - Not Seeing Any Signs of God’s Unconditional Love in Your Life? 2 Loving Gifts that He’s Blessing You With Right Now
Episode 162 - Don't Have Confidence in God's Love For You? 4 Sneaky Blockers and How to Overcome Them with Biblical Truth
Episode 142 - Do You Often Wonder, Who Am I? Consider These 11 Names that God Has Lovingly Given You in the Bible
Episode 133 - Finding it Difficult to Trust God’s Love? 5 Ways His Love is Utterly and Completely Different From Human Affection
On a related note, you might also find Episode 121 helpful.
Episode 121 - Having Trouble Accepting God’s Love Due to an Abusive Father or Dad? 3 Tips to Get You Unstuck ASAP
Remember how I mentioned earlier that by focusing on Jesus you’re also seeing God the Father? I talk more about that in this episode - along with the other two helpful tips.
3. Bask in the Decode God’s Love Mini Course
If you’re yearning for something that’s based in biblical knowledge but also tactical and actionable, then my Decode God’s Love mini course is right up your alley!
Instead of spending this Father’s Day thinking about what you never received from your earthly father, you can spend it gaining a clear, biblical understanding of God's love for you through its five foundational traits.
In other words, you can focus on discovering how God’s love is very different from the earthly love you’ve experienced.
The course is self-paced and designed to be completed within one week. However, you could easily complete more than one lesson per day, allowing you to bask in the love of your Heavenly Father this coming weekend.
Just make sure that you’re not going through the lessons too fast as, to help you apply what you learn to your life and relationship with God, the course includes a digital workbook with purposeful exercises and additional resources. So you don’t want to rush through the material; it’s important to give yourself ample time for breakthrough moments.
To learn more about Decode God’s Love and get instant access.