‘Our Father’ – this term can stir up a multitude of emotion all around the world. Good, bad, happy or sad. Too often our idea of God as our Father is predetermined by our view of our earthly father, but in reality no matter how great our daddys may be, he doesn’t even compare to the perfect King.
One of my favorite parts about going to care points and seeing the kids is hearing them each time pray The Lord’s Prayer. The more I hear them say it, English or Siswati, the meaning and power of it comes more and more to life. “Give us this day our daily bread,” it has a totally different meaning in this country. It’s literal. It’s reality. Unlike the majority of us, a lot of Swazis see God mostly as a provider. A provider who supplies food for their families, rain for their crops, money to get their medication to help with HIV/AIDS, shoes with or without holes, jobs, water, money for school fees, clothes, and especially a kind of love that they have never experienced. An overwhelming number of these children are orphans and very rarely do any of them have a father figure in their lives. This week in ministry we have been teaching the kids about who God the Father is and what He is capable of – His unconditional love, protective and comforting hand, and countless blessings.
I got to have a really cool conversation with a 13 year old fatherless boy who loves dogs, wants to be a lawyer, and prays to Jesus for wisdom at least 3 times a day. In Swaziland most of these are typical, but I was blown away, humbled, and inspired by his relationship with his Heavenly Father. He shared with me how much he misses his earthly father who passed away in 2005, but how he has a Father in heaven who is greater than his father could have ever been AND he prays for wisdom!? Like what, how encouraging is that?! He sees God as his teacher who goes with him to school and helps him understand what he’s being taught, his provider who supplies the porridge at dinner, and his father who keeps his mother and 4 siblings safe even though they live kilometers apart.
To me, God is my Guide who knows the next step in my life even when I don’t, my best friend who surprises me everydayand who is present with me always, and my never failing Father who deeply knows me, loves and cares for me regardless of my rebellion. His role is never-ending. That’s the cool thing about God – He has no limit. He is everything, can do anything and be anyone.
Thank you Jesus for teaching me through Mvovo, a quiet 13 year old boy who got kicked out of school in 3rd grade for getting in a fight because someone stole his pen. I pray that he and all of your children can fully embrace the holy, eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, fair, freeing, just and loving Father that You are. Thank you Lord for being one of a kind.
