$3 Bill

   Obviously he was a $3 bill kind of guy and ready to make a point of it.  As we approached 23D & 23E, my husband asked me if I would like for him to try to find seats for us elsewhere.  The man looked otherwise harmless, so we opted to occupy our assigned places. 

  The usual “Heading home?...” conversation took place, followed by a fairly brief monologue in regard to his homosexual partner, his viewpoints on nutritional values of airline meals, and his upcoming speaking engagements at the university.  I was sincerely exhausted from several sleep-deprived nights and intense conversations throughout the previous few days.  I quickly grasped at a lull in the monologue to strategically position my book, headphones, computer and neck pillow for the long flight.

   “Would you care for something to drink?”

   “Actually, yes.  I’d like Scotch with a cup of ice and also some water, please.”

   He said this every time she asked.  Unfortunately, over the course of the eight hour flight, she served refreshments quite a number of times....  nine, as a matter of fact.  As a result, our seat-mate’s social margins dissolved and his friendliness significantly increased. 

   Interestingly, he also became excessively fascinated by the babies of the people seated in front of and to the side of us.  Before his repeated refreshment consumption, he had ignored these little ones with expressions of disdain. 

   Life choices made against God’s will are bound to sport undercurrents of misguided emotions, playacting confidence, and responses lacking compassion.  But when entering into a relaxed state of mind, defenses are lowered, clouds of self-justification fade away, and glimpses of true God-given desires are revealed.

   Fatherhood is created to be the most powerful of all desires imbedded into the heart of man.  God did not teach us to pray, “Creator, who art in heaven...” or “Almighty Prince of Peace, hallowed by Thy name...”.  These titles are, indeed, some of the ways God is identified.

   His instruction, however, is for us to address Him as “Father”.  This most honorable title is all inclusive to the reality that we are His children, we carry His name, we are fruitful for His glory, and there is nothing that can separate us from His love and acceptance.

   The title of “father” identifies a relationship of authority, of compassion, of hope for the future.  The term “father” speaks of the initiation of new life as a direct result of an act of love, of replication, of protection, of casting vision for the future, of identity, of sustenance, and of the establishment of home where safety and security can be found. 

   The word “father” is a constant reminder of those that have gone before us, paving the way for our own life experiences, and insists that all fathers alike bear the responsibility of providing leadership for generations to come.

  The terms of limitation as a result of rejecting God the Father include rejection of the validity of fatherhood.  The fig tree which Jesus cursed became withered from the roots up (Mark 11:20).  Destruction was complete and there was no hope that anyone in the future would eat fruit from that tree, implying that even its seeds that dropped to the earth were useless.

   Yet...

   God, in His infinite mercy, quietly offers reminders of the deepest desires which He implanted permanently within the soul of every man, even to those who reject Him.  No matter what choice has been or ever will be made, no matter what bad experience has provoked hateful condemnation, no matter what lifestyle has been chosen, or no matter what is passionately decided or sincerely believed, the truth remains:  the desire within every man for fatherhood is real and that desire is indestructible.

“For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth.”

~II Cor. 13:8