Receive the Father

“Whoever receives me, receives the one who sent me.” // John 13:20

My meditation went like this: I’m with Jesus, and He wants to take me to the Father. I’m afraid to go, afraid I’m a disappointment, or that the Father is angry with me. I balk, but Jesus takes me by the hand. We enter a cave and descend down into a tunnel.

It’s very dark. We’re in a place like the catacombs, and I can barely see, but Jesus knows the way perfectly. I follow Him as he leads me. He never lets go of my hand.

Finally, the tunnel opens into a little room. Torches are lit, and I see the Father is sitting there on a throne made of stone. His head is down. Slowly He raises it to look at me and as He does, I dart behind Jesus, frightened. But Jesus nudges me to look at the Father again, and when I do, my breath catches—I see Jesus—it is Jesus in the Father. I see the source of Jesus, there is a look I cannot quite describe. A heaviness, might, and majesty. His eyes are so dark and penetrating, at first they frighten me, but as I look closer, I see a million universes in them. All truth, all perfection, all holiness—and they are so alive!

My words are more like a whisper when I say to Jesus, “That’s the Father!” And though I am still afraid, still tucked behind Jesus, I see the Father and Jesus exchange a knowing smile.

I realize I want to come back here—slowly and carefully and always with Jesus leading the way—but again and again, to the throne of the Father. My Father.

Most of us carry some version of “a father wound.” But Jesus makes it so plain: He is the way to the Father, and He’s also the way to healing the father wound you might carry.

Do you struggle to believe in the Father’s care for you? That He delights in you? That He wishes to bless you? Can you let Jesus take you by the hand and make an introduction?

He delights in you. // Liz Kelly Click to tweet

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