Born to Be a Father by Lisa Burkhardt Worley

A college friend texted me this week. Mary Ann and I have many similarities. We are both in ministry, were athletes in college, in the same sorority. We also shared some of the same friends—but it was our fatherlessness that was probably the glue to our friendship. We understood each other’s loss. Her text noted the anniversary of her father’s death—her dad died when she was only three years old—and it hit her how long she had been fatherless.

With my own father dying before I was born, I began to think about how many years I had felt the void of fatherlessness in my own life. For those of you who had fathers as a child, it’s difficult to explain the emptiness us fatherless girls feel. While they don’t always answer the call, dads are designed to speak into their daughter’s self-esteem. A report, “Fathers and their Impact on Children’s Well Being,” says, “Even from birth, children who have an involved father are more likely to be emotionally secure, be confident to explore their surroundings, and, as they grow older, have better social connections.” That explains a lot about why I can be “awkward” at times.

But just this morning, as I was thinking about Jesus’ entrance into the world, I had a revelation. I thought in addition to being named “Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, and The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6), his name is also “Everlasting Father.” Jesus was born so my friend and I and all the other fatherless children in the world would have access to a dad, there for us 24/7, someone who we can talk to every morning and throughout the day—forever.

I often wonder where I would be without the heavenly Father’s touch in my life, without His encouragement, without the supernatural encounters, and the work He has called me to do for Him. He has a large corporation and as His daughter, he’s given me a position in His company! There’s no better boss than my Abba Father.

Today, as we near the celebration of Jesus’ birth, I am thankful God had a plan, one that required Him to enter the world through His Son, but to also sacrificially give up His beloved Son, Jesus. He was born to be a Father to many, including me.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1).