In his book Decoded, rapper Jay-Z said this about growing up, “We were kids without fathers…so we found our fathers on wax and on the streets and in history, and in a way, that was a gift. We got to pick and choose the ancestors who would inspire the world we were going to make for ourselves…Our fathers were gone…but we took their old records and used them to build something fresh.”
As a kid, you learn from a huge number of sources: Parents, schools, friends, TV/internet. It’s only when we reach adulthood that we can start parsing out the difference between good lessons and bad ones. I knew someone who didn’t get their first pair of glasses until they were 16, but they never knew anything was wrong. They just thought not being able to see far away was normal. Everyone sees like this.
As we reach a certain level of maturity, we can start to choose the voices we listen to and the people who will have influence in our lives. And it is in this choosing that we determine the course of our lives. No matter whether you grew up without a father like Jay-Z or had a pretty great one, you have a perfect heavenly Father who wants to spend time with you.
In Revelation 20:19-22 he says to us, “19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to them and eat with them, and they with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant them to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 You who have an ear, let them hear what the Spirit says.”
God wants to be our perfect heavenly Father. Caring for us. Leading us in the life that we are building. I hope you can hear the voice calling for you.