April 3

Apr 3 - Today from Proverbs 3 we look at verse 24
"The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him."

This verse sets me to ponder. In all my years of observing (and experiencing), human nature, I have concluded that it is the rule that sons seek to please their fathers, with very few exceptions. It doesn't seem to matter if the father is a perfectionist, a drunkard, an abusive brute, an ordinary Joe, or whatever -- sons find it important to please their fathers. I never had any sisters or daughters, so I do not have as much personal experience in that area. But from what I have observed, daughters also seek to please their fathers. I do not pretend to be an astute student of the psychological sciences, so I do not know the reason why this is such a prevalent phenomena. I am simply sharing my observations.
I continue to ponder, moving into the deep and unfathomable ways of our heavenly Father. We know from the authority of His word that He loves us unconditionally. There is nothing we can possibly do to make Him love us any more than He already does -- or any less. We know that He is no respecter of men. He is not personally impressed with degrees of stature and ability among mankind. But simply stopping here almost makes Him two-dimensional. Certainly our eternal Father must have incredible form and depth. I think we do not ponder God enough as a God of emotion. Yes, our emotions have been corrupted and distorted by sin, and often get us into trouble, but that does not invalidate emotions as an attribute of our heavenly Father. As we have already observed, His love is unconditional and is therefore static. His love for us was a decision He made not based on emotion -- at least not in time and space. (I cannot go beyond that because then we enter into an area of mystery.) But, as I read His Word, I see that God displays all kinds of emotions concerning mankind. He rejoices over the righteous. He weeps over the disobedient. He gets angry with the stubborn. He shows pride in the unwavering faithful. God's emotions give Him incredible dimension, and we miss so much when we leave Him in the two-dimension realm of a sovereign puppeteer who capriciously controls all human events.
In Colossians 1, Paul prays a Spirit-inspired prayer for the church at Colosse. In verses nine and ten he shares this petition; "asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way." God loves us unconditionally, but He's not always pleased with our attitudes and behaviors.
I firmly believe that if we know God as our heavenly Father, we would want to live to please Him. And it is possible to please Him. Not by the keeping of the law, but by faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, "without faith it is impossible to please God." One could strive to keep the law their whole life, but if they had no faith, they would never have pleased God. Faith is a key element in our relationship with our heavenly Father. We cannot see Him, we cannot audibly hear Him (with some reported exceptions), we cannot touch Him, yet by faith we "believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." (the rest of Hebrews 11:6). Faith is believing God, and living according to His revealed will because we do believe Him. He shows pride in the unwavering faithful. Read the first chapter of Job, and you will see a Father who is proud of His faithful son. Not because he kept the whole of the law, but because he believed God, and worshipped God because of God's worthiness alone. No matter what ill fortune befell him, Job lived to please his Father.
Is my heavenly Father delighting in me today? Does he find joy in His heart as He watches over me? These things cause me to ponder. A child who really loves and admires his father seeks to spend time with him and emulate his ways.