When a
son or daughter is born it’s OK for father to dream a little, to dream of
playing catch, going fishing, watching his child win a race or sing with a rich,
pleasing voice, and eventually become a great writer, lawyer, doctor, or
(heaven forbid) a politician. Often the
dreams turn into expectations, which can be either good or bad. Bad if they are unrealistic or pushed in
demanding, unloving ways. Good if they
come with love, support, and a growing freedom.
I don’t
know if my father dreamed of anything special when I was born but as I grew up
I learned of his expectations. I learned
that he expected me to do what I was told and if given a chore to do it
right. I learned that there could be
unpleasant consequences when I did the wrong thing. He didn’t say a lot. In fact, his expectations were communicated by
his behavior – he worked hard, he was honest, he enjoyed many friends, he
supported his family, and served Christ and his church faithfully. And this is what he wanted for his
children. Thinking about this I
wondered, what would Dad have said if I had asked him, just what do you expect
of me in life?
And
then, as I thought about this meditation for Father’s day I began to imagine
God the Father having a similar conversation with his Son, Jesus. God speaks to his son: “Jesus, it appears
that mankind has made a mess of everything and there’s no way they can set
things right. They have totally
alienated me by their hatred and violence, their greed and lust, their
divisions and selfishness. I want you to
go to them, as one of them, show them how a human being should live. Then I expect you to take upon yourself the
guilt of their sin and make atonement for them.
It will not be easy. You will
suffer and die but through it all I expect you to love them and forgive them.”
If Jesus
had not been one with the Father such expectations might have crippled
him. It certainly would overwhelm any of
us. But as 2 Cor 5:19-21 says, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to
Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the
word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God
were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to
God. For he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the
righteousness of God in him.”
Jesus did what God
expected. Now our heavenly father
expects something of us, his children.
As Paul said, we have a ministry, a word of reconciliation, we are
ambassadors saying to the world, “Be reconciled to God.” And, because we are his children, his family,
be reconciled to each other.
