My mom holding me, my brother Andy, my dad, ca. 1953.
“He will be called . . . Everlasting Father “ (Isaiah 9:6).
In the Hebrew the phrase is literally “the Father of Eternity.” This speaks of the purpose of his coming.
He is before, above, and beyond time. He is the possessor of eternity. He is eternally like a father to his people. This is not a statement about the Trinity but about the character of our Lord. All that a good father is, Jesus is to his people.
Because he is like a father, he cares for his people. Because he owns eternity, he can give us eternal life. That’s important for those who live on this sin-cursed planet. No one lives forever. Sooner or later we will all find our own place in the graveyard. We are not immortal but transitory. We’re here today, gone tomorrow. A dead Christ will do us no good. Dying men need an undying Christ.
Here’s a key phrase: He is a father forever! That’s important to me because I had a father, but not a father forever. I had a father, but he is gone now. I received a message from someone who said her aunt knew my father, Dr. Tyrus Pritchard. That warmed my heart because it’s been 38 years since my father died. He was a very good man, but he was not a father forever. I am a father to Joshua, Mark and Nick, but I am not a father forever. I will someday pass away. All human fathers must go. But Jesus is a father forever! He’s just what we need.
We are glad, O Lord, for your love that never ends. We rejoice in the thought that you are greater than any problem we may face today. Amen.
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