In popular culture, God the Father gets the short end of the stick during Holy Week.
Not for the better and definitely for the worse, He’s seen as a severe and secluded monarch within the Trinity, tucked above in His throne room while Jesus “cleans up the mess” on the cross.
The thinking goes along these lines. Okay, I can get on board with this Jesus. He died for all our sins so we could be forgiven. But have you met His dad? What’s all this business about His holy wrath?. If He’s so holy, why’d He allow us to be sinners in the first place?
All fair questions to ask.
The True Story about God the Father
Here’s where the Resurrection Sunday takes you to the edge of your seat: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were all in on it together. Jesus was slain before the foundations of the world, not because the Father hated the world but because He loved the people in it.
I know, I know, you’ve either gotten all the details in sermons past because you’re a veteran believer or don’t want to hear it at all because “fairy tales are for children.”
He’s not the psycho sports dad who turns his son’s knees into paper mache in hopes of a college scholarship and vicarious accomplishment Neither is He the doofus sitcom dad who’s still looking the TV remote.
Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection wasn’t a cover-up for lack of planning. It was perfection delivered from Dad, the Heavenly Father. Jesus’ earthly ministry reflected that. He always did things in tandem with the Father and the Holy Spirit, never in spite of them.
He said it Himself, “So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise’ ” (John 5:19).
This One’s for You, Dad
It took me a few hundred words to admit it, but the reason why I’m writing so much about God the Father has a lot to due with reflection on personal circumstances. Maybe some hardcore projecting, too.
In late September of 2022, my father Dale suffered a massive brain bleed and fell while doing yard work outside. Whether a brain bleed caused the fall or the fall caused the brain bleed, we’re not sure. A career electrician, my father had fallen at a worksite back in 2018, suffering a serious concussion. In the ensuing years, his balance proved a fickle friend when he would bend and twist at certain angles. This likely played a role in his 2022 fall.
Minutes after falling on that September afternoon in 2022 and coming back inside in our home, he lost consciousness on the living room couch. An ambulance rushed him to the hospital, and he underwent emergency surgery.
Many prayers, a ventilator, and a team of dedicated ICU doctors and nurses kept him alive for nearly 10 days. But he never regained consciousness and died October 5, 2022. My mom, sister, brother-in-law, and I were able to say our goodbyes after he went into palliative care. A believer in Christ, dad went straight from that ICU hospital bed into his resurrected body.
I’ve never been more grateful for a Resurrection Sunday than this year. After standing over my dad’s open grave a few months ago, the hope of Jesus’ empty tomb feels even more tangible to me. That may sound like Christianese, some professional editing to put a good face on things. God knows we all dress a little nicer, smile a little wider, and sing a little louder on Easter, so I can’t fault you for thinking it. But I am at peace knowing where he’s spending his Sunday this year.
You’ve heard about my dad’s death and resurrection. I can’t leave without giving you some snippets about his life. A longtime electrician with IBEW Local Union No. 5, he helped keep the lights on at lot of buildings in Pittsburgh and the surrounding region.
If you’ve ever been on a job site, you know it’s not exactly a hotbed for guys who “let their light shine” for Jesus. But after he passed, multiple friends of his who are in the trades shared how my dad was a godly influence in their lives as they navigated the stresses of the job and raising a family. He also did plenty of work for friends and family. As one of my aunts says, “Dale’s handiwork shows up all over my house.”
Dad also had range. He could chop it up with his work crew while running wire for 5 days a week, then teach Sunday School for 3-5 year olds for one or two Sundays a month at our church. The little squirts knew him as “Mr. Dale.” He served for more than 25 years all the way up to his death.
He always had a way with kids. My cousin Brittany has a severe physical and developmental disorder. She cannot speak, and her condition affects all her motor functions, preventing her from even moving without assistance. But she can smile. And besides her devoted parents, guess who could get her to crack one, even now in her twenties? Yup, Uncle Dale.
Resurrection Sunday Never Loses Its Shine
Father and son relationships are a complex bond, as the saying goes. I have a flourishing track record of keeping things inside, holding people at a distance, then speaking up when it’s too late. How cliché for a writer, right? That didn’t always make things easy for my dad. But one thing about him was that he was a talker, and when I’d open up, engaging my motormouth mode, he’d listen. I never told him how much that meant to me. I’ll add that to the list of things we’ll chat about when we reunite one day.
My father’s physical body may have revolted against him, but God the Father perfected Him through eternal life in Christ. The Father orchestrated. The Son carried out it out. The Holy Spirit raised the Son to life.
Peace is a cheap word these days, but its price has never been higher: one only begotten Son.
Jesus is risen indeed. And because of Him, so are believers like my dad. I’m grateful to have that peace. Once saved, you can’t get “more saved.” But you can grow in appreciation for it.
This weekend is one of those times in my life.
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Kevin Cochrane is the creator of Replenish, the site to resupply your faith with overlooked insights from Scripture-based stories. Share your thoughts by commenting below or dropping a line to kevin@replenishstories.com.
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