“Since before time began, a call went out to you. Even in the midst of a crowd, God has been seeking your heart as an individual. An invitation was developed with you in mind. From the time that the foundation of the world was laid, Jesus prepared to die for you and for each soul that would ever live. His sacrifice was arranged before you were ever a thought—before a single soul had ever lived. He did this so that you might have eternal life. Have you responded to His invitation?

This call has gone out directly to you. It does not involve living vicariously through someone else; it involves you living directly. The rewards of answering this invitation are beyond anything you could ever imagine. God is offering you a most amazing prize: the gift of eternal life. This gift was given in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 NKJV).”¹

Do you believe?  I do.  And because I have accepted Jesus’ forgiveness, I have become a child of God, and God has become my Everlasting Father.  Yes, I get to call Him Father.  The Great I AM, the God of all gods, the Omnipotent One, the Creator—this very One is also my Father.

So, on this Father’s Day holiday when we celebrate our fathers, I will not only be celebrating the man I call dad but also my ultimate Father, God Almighty.  I am thankful for the things my earthly father did to help me learn about my Heavenly Father, and I am so grateful God extended the invitation so I could become His child.

NOTES

¹ Francee Strain, No Ordinary Invitation: Called to Live a Life of Eternal Purpose (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2017), 4.

©Original text and photo Francee Strain, June 20, 2021.  I chose this photo because God blessed me with this rare sighting, and because my dad and I both enjoy photography and caring for wild birds.