Our theology drives our lives. What we know and understand
about God impacts everything - everything we think, say, and do. It especially
controls and directs spiritual activities such as preaching and counseling.
It's the latter I wish to consider by asking: "How does the Fatherhood of God
impact our counseling, our personal ministry of the Word to others in need?"
There are certain counseling problems that are especially helped
by specific aspects of God's Fatherhood. But before looking at these, let me
just make two qualifications. First, while the whole Trinity is involved in
every counseling solution, in this article we are limiting ourselves to the
role of the Father in counseling. Second, while the Fatherhood of God is
involved in every counseling scenario, I'm picking the issues in which God's
Fatherliness is especially helpful:
Bereavement: When
counseling those who have lost loved ones, we are privileged to point people to
the Father of all mercies and the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3). In the midst of bereavement's emotional tsunami of fear,
devastation, grief, He is the widow's stay and the orphan's shield (Psalms 68:5).
Single parenthood:
According to the United States Census Bureau, over a quarter of all American
children live in single parent households, with 23.1% of them living with their
mother and only 3.4% with their father. 4% of American children live with
neither their father nor their mother. What a mission field for the Fatherhood
of God! What a message we can bring to lonely single parents and their often-lonely
children.
Poverty: In a
time of high long-term unemployment, we can help people remember that God the
Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalms 50:10). He
knows our needs before we ask (Matthew 6:8). He
has promised to provide for His children's needs according to His riches in
glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).
Our daily prayer for daily bread is directed to our daily Provider, our Father
who is in heaven.
Abuse: Although
it may seem counter-intuitive to point an abused child to another
Father-figure, this is where theology and biblical teaching can serve to show
how different their Heavenly Father is compared to all others. He is a perfect
loving Father.
Chastisement:
When Christians are being chastised, they need help to understand that it is
the loving hand of their Father holding the rod of correction, rather than the
punishing hand of a judge exacting retribution (Hebrews 12:6).
That will help sustain the fainting, and quell a rebellious spirit.
Anxiety: We all
know the Worry Timeline: School, grades, friends, college, marriage, mortgage,
school fees, children, children's marriage, health, pension, inheritance. Worry
after increasing worry. But at every stage of this all-pervasive worry, God
enters and says, "Take no anxious thought" (Matthew 6:25).
But He doesn't just tell
us to stop being anxious, as if anyone can simply stop that upon command.
Through His Son, He reasons and argues us to peace by pointing to the birds and
the wild flowers to demonstrate His Father's care for such little things and
asks: "If your Father is like this towards such little things, will He not care
even more for you, His child?"
Injustice: As the
judge of all the earth, God the Father promises all victims of injustice that
He will do right. He will cut down the wicked no matter how high they rise, and
he will lift up His oppressed children no matter how low they fall (Psalms 37:1). What a
comfort to all victims of crime, especially unpunished crime!
Prodigal children:
Christians need to be reminded to show their prodigal sons the same prodigal
love that God the Father showed them when they were rebels. What a pattern of
unrelenting love and full forgiveness (Psalms 103:13)!
Bitterness: On
the subject of forgiveness, we can help motivate people to forgive others by
calling them to consider their Father's forgiveness of them. In fact, we can
show them that our debts will only be forgiven by our heavenly Father if we
forgive others their debts to us as well (Matthew 6:14).
Church disputes:
Church difficulties turn churches into battlefields or sports fields. The
Fatherhood of God reminds Christians in dispute that this is not about what
army you're fighting for or what team you are on; rather, it's usually about
learning to love and live with your brothers and sisters.
Growth/Maturity:
While counseling is often viewed as problem-solving, part of our discipleship counseling
should also be about positively helping people to grow and mature as
Christians. God's is glorified as Father by fruitful Christian lives (John 15:8).
Perhaps it's especially in parenting that the positive
truths of God's Fatherhood can be used to prepare parents for training children
for the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).
I hope you can see that God's Fatherhood is not an academic subject. It is a practical truth offering wide-ranging help with life's multiple problems. And it's far more effective than the latest Band-Aid of self-help.
David Murray is Professor of Old Testament and Practical Theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He Blogs at headhearthand. and you can follow him on Twitter @davidpmurray.
