Day Thirty Two: Ask Your Father
You can typically tell how “high up” a person is on the corporate ladder by determining how many people you need to talk to before you can speak to them.
Depending on the person you wish to speak with, you may have to go through lower-level employees, junior managers, regional managers, and even a personal secretary before you can speak with them. The bigwigs will often have you jump through a variety of hoops before getting on their calendar. But no matter how impressive your title or the number of letters after your name, there are certain people who don’t need an appointment to show up at your door.
There is a famous picture from 1963 of John F. Kennedy Jr, playing at his father’s feet under the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office of the White House. Surely anyone who wanted an appointment with President Kennedy would have needed to go through all sorts of people and procedures before having his ear, but not his son. No matter which President of the United States, they might have been thought of as one of the most powerful people in the world, but to their children, they have simply been “Dad.”
This is the type of relationship that Jesus is inviting us into: “In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God (John 16:26-27).”
Jesus, addressing His disciples, unveils a paradigm-shifting reality about prayer and access to the Father. Unlike the convoluted processes of approaching worldly figures, Jesus declares that a day is coming when we can ask the Father directly, in His name. There will be no need for intermediaries or secretaries because in the divine hierarchy, we are not staff or lobbyists; we are beloved children.
Our appointment with The Father is unaffected by our status or achievements. We are always welcome because of our love for and allegiance to Jesus. The invitation Jesus extends is not one of formality and distance; it is an invitation into the inner sanctum of a familial bond where we can approach the Father with the familiarity of a child running into the arms of a loving parent. It is an invitation to play at his feet.
The triumphant declaration, “I have overcome the world,” resonates with the assurance that the trials of this life are conquered by Jesus. It is a call to anchor our trust in Him, recognizing that our prayers are heard in the context of a conquered reality. Our direct access to the Father is secured by Jesus’ victory, and our position as beloved children should assure us that, no matter the challenges, we stand on the side of the Overcomer.
Depending on the person you wish to speak with, you may have to go through lower-level employees, junior managers, regional managers, and even a personal secretary before you can speak with them. The bigwigs will often have you jump through a variety of hoops before getting on their calendar. But no matter how impressive your title or the number of letters after your name, there are certain people who don’t need an appointment to show up at your door.
There is a famous picture from 1963 of John F. Kennedy Jr, playing at his father’s feet under the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office of the White House. Surely anyone who wanted an appointment with President Kennedy would have needed to go through all sorts of people and procedures before having his ear, but not his son. No matter which President of the United States, they might have been thought of as one of the most powerful people in the world, but to their children, they have simply been “Dad.”
This is the type of relationship that Jesus is inviting us into: “In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God (John 16:26-27).”
Jesus, addressing His disciples, unveils a paradigm-shifting reality about prayer and access to the Father. Unlike the convoluted processes of approaching worldly figures, Jesus declares that a day is coming when we can ask the Father directly, in His name. There will be no need for intermediaries or secretaries because in the divine hierarchy, we are not staff or lobbyists; we are beloved children.
Our appointment with The Father is unaffected by our status or achievements. We are always welcome because of our love for and allegiance to Jesus. The invitation Jesus extends is not one of formality and distance; it is an invitation into the inner sanctum of a familial bond where we can approach the Father with the familiarity of a child running into the arms of a loving parent. It is an invitation to play at his feet.
The triumphant declaration, “I have overcome the world,” resonates with the assurance that the trials of this life are conquered by Jesus. It is a call to anchor our trust in Him, recognizing that our prayers are heard in the context of a conquered reality. Our direct access to the Father is secured by Jesus’ victory, and our position as beloved children should assure us that, no matter the challenges, we stand on the side of the Overcomer.
Posted in Lent
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