The Christian Working Woman - God Won’t Let Go of You – 5

I’d like to briefly recap the story I told about the young boy who was attacked by an alligator. He had jumped into the swimming hole and as he swam out, an alligator swam toward him. His father was nearby, and he ran to the lake to rescue his son. As he reached from the dock for his son’s hands, the alligator grabbed his legs, and a tug of war ensued. But this father was not letting go, and he dug his fingers into the boy’s arms to hold him. A farmer driving by heard the screams, ran to the lake and shot the alligator. But of course, the boy’s legs were greatly scarred, and he spent days in the hospital recovering. When asked to show the scars on his legs, the boy did so, but then with obvious pride, he said, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. They are there because my Dad wouldn’t let go.” In Romans 8 Paul tells us those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God, and because of that, we can cry, “Abba, Father.” We are permitted to call the God of creation by an intimate term, a family name, if you please—Abba, Father, Papa. He is our heavenly father, and he will never let us go. I think of a friend of mine who never knew her father; he abandoned her before she was born. Others have fathers who simply neglected them, and still others have fathers who abused them. If that is true for you, your concept of a father is likely warped. But let me assure you God is your heavenly Father, and he is perfect. Don’t transfer your negative experience with your earthly father to God, because you will then miss the joy of fellowshipping with him as Father, Abba, Papa. I had a wonderful earthly father who never neglected me or mistreated me, but even he could not promise to never leave me. My heavenly Father can say, I will never leave you or forsake you, and I have full assurance he will always be with me. He will not let me go, and the same is true for you, if you are his child. Let me close with these wonderful verses from Romans 8: For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).