Fatherless Fathers
Whilst in prayers earlier this week, the Lord spoke to me of a generation who are "fatherless fathers" – a self-parenting generation, who have not had the experience of close parental input (either physical or spiritual) and who are now rising as leaders in their generation without the skill set, experience or gift of being parented. This generation have a desire to father/mother, yet they have not been properly fathered in the faith.
Apostle Paul spoke to the Church in Corinth of a similar issue in his day: "Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the Gospel" (1 Corinthians 4:15).
Glory to God that in Christ the Gospel creates covenant relationships through which spiritual fathers and mothers are raised up in the nations to serve the next generation!
God's intention is that the family unit would reveal His glory in all the earth (Genesis 1:28). Furthermore, His desire is that male and female co-labouring together in Christ would be spiritually fruitful and walk in dominion, i.e. release the government of God on the earth as they serve Him in mutual submission to God and to each other.
Satan has warred against the Fatherhood of God in every generation since time began and has sought to decimate the family unit in every conceivable way. In all spheres of society the enemy seeks to desecrate and decimate fatherhood.
Despite this awful onslaught in these end times, it is my belief that God is pouring out exponential grace on the Body of Christ to experience His Fatherhood tri-generationally. One way in which the Lord is doing this is by restoring spiritual fathers and mothers in the Church. This emerging generation shall not be lost to an orphan mindset, but will be loved into healing and wholeness and walk in their God-given identity as sons/daughters and legitimate heirs.
Fathering and Mothering in the Faith
The aspect of "fathering" in the faith is not gender-bound. Apostolic fathers and mothers carry the heart of God the Father to His Church and His children. Apostle Paul used both terms "father" and "mother" figuratively to speak to his spiritual children in Thessalonica:
As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. 1 Thessalonians 2:6b-7
For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into His Kingdom and glory. 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12
Paul often wrestled in prayer for those whom he discipled, "until Christ be formed in you," comparing this intercession to the pain of childbirth, despite the fact he had obviously never given birth! So we see that Apostle Paul related to aspects of mothering/female parenting as well as to fatherhood/male parenting (see Galatians 4:19-20)
Importantly, we look to Christ our High Priest and Apostle and rejoice in the fact that Jesus lived to bring glory to the Father by walking in obedience to His will. Jesus came to reveal the Father's love in all its simplicity and complexity. At the Cross of Calvary, Christ broke down every dividing wall (cultural, generational, societal, gender bias, to name a few), and He calls us to a life of surrender, obedience and love.
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Galatians 5:6b
It is essential that spiritual fathers and mothers to this "self-parenting generation" understand the generation they are raising up. We can avoid so many unnecessary misunderstandings, relationship pitfalls and spiritual abortions that lead to destiny delay or destruction if we will take time to understand the character of those whom we disciple.
Moses – Our Model
Studying the life of Moses, I have seen how God used him as a spiritual father to a nation. Let's take a step back in time to Moses' humble beginnings. Alarmingly, he was born under a death threat that could potentially annihilate his people. The males of his generation were in danger of death from the edict issued by Pharaoh that all Hebrew sons were to be thrown into the Nile and killed (Exodus 1:22). Moses means "drawn out"; He was drawn out by God and delivered into safe-keeping so that he might fulfill God's plans for his life. God is still in the business of calling out and rescuing a generation whom satan seeks to destroy.
We have seen how dear Moses needed Jethro (his father-in-law) to help him be a good father to others. Moses' only real early experience of fatherhood was in Pharaoh's court whilst he was growing up. His view of authority was filtered through the lens of ruling without intimate relationship with a close father figure. The distortion of father/mother authority at this core level of human development affects our understanding of our identity, creates insecurity and causes legitimacy questions about our destiny to arise. God had to deal with this insecurity in the life of his servant Moses, also.
It is my intention to share some insights from the life of Moses in his transformational experience of being healed from insecurity, issues of identity and more to becoming a father to the Jewish people whom he was entrusted to lead. How wonderful that we have seen the anointing of God on Moses as a capable leader, and yet we may also take a bird's-eye view of his process and faith journey with God that brought him to this point. Moses himself said, "I have become an alien in a foreign land" (Exodus 2:22).
We see clearly how the man of God wrestled with his own identity having been raised in the courts of Pharaoh, yet he was a Hebrew at heart. Moses had to pass through certain life lessons in order to overcome his "self-parenting" tendencies, to be healed and transformed into a father of a nation. Interestingly, this deep inner searching was brought about in Moses just after his son was born and he named him "Gershom," which sounds like the Hebrew for "an alien there."
It was by being thrust into fatherhood that God was able to heal the areas of insecurity and wounding in his son Moses. It was not Moses' fault that he had not been fathered and God saw to it that Moses did not lack by putting Jethro in his life at the appointed time. In truth, most of us experience this same process under God's leading and guiding as He shapes our lives and works out His purposes and plans in us. The need to be a spiritual father/mother to others can serve as a catalyst in each of us, to bring us into healing in the area of "self-parenting" tendencies. (To be continued...)
God bless you today as you follow His call on your life. In His grace,
Catherine Brown
Founder/Director, Gatekeepers Global Ministries
Co-Founder, Scottish Apostolic Networking Enterprise
Email: admin@gatekeepers.org.uk
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