How many of you still call your dads, Father?

[twcstp]

I was reflecting on some things, and my dad abandoned my family when I was a young child, me, and my brothers.

I can't help but reflect and take note of how broken our world is. I spent many years trying to please others, and I anchored myself to the way that they responded; when I failed, I heaped what one might even call burning coals on my own head. I spent years trying to please my mother, and brothers, and those around me; girlfriends, in the workplace, co-workers, neighbors strangers... etc. I really put so much emphasis on my worth through others, and now I was standing outside and thinking on this for a moment. I even asked myself if it's really okay for me to call God, Father. I felt the Spirit move, and He blew on my ear.

See, when I had rooted myself in others, I was totally crushed, every single time. Not once did I walk away unscathed. I was burdened by my own passionate heart, and I was crushed by my own expectations, as well as theirs, and through failure I was like a twig trampled on and broken over, and over, and over. Truthfully, I don't fully understand what I'm thinking about but I'm going to share this insight anyways.

KJV:Matthew 23:9
And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.​

KJV:John 12:43
For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

As I thought on this, I realized that if I had children right now, and if I taught them to call me Father, then I would be breaking this Word & Teaching of Jesus Christ our Savior. Not only this, but I would be rooting their selves in my own self, rather than God, because I would have been neglecting to lead them in God's Word, and to seek the praise of their Father in Heaven. I, having been so broken in life, have come to realize that there is absolutely nothing at all that I can give my own children, had I any, when it comes to the Spirit, and what they need of God, because I am neither God, nor Father, but a man, who needs his Father. Who is my Father, if not God? Then, who is my dad, but a man like myself, who needs his Father? Had I been rooted in pleasing my own dad, and not my Father, although my dad abandoned us, I fear that pleasing his expectations also would have destroyed me, not that I wasn't already destroyed--I was. But it is my Father in Heaven who has brought me back to life, and given me life in my self through Himself. In addition to this, if we, being men, accept the words Father, being called Father, what are we taking from our children, have we any, and what are we taking from our Father who Is in Heaven? If I told my own son, or daughter, call me not Father, but your Father in Heaven, call Him Father, and myself, call me dad, for I am a man like yourself, or that I am made in God's image like yourself (as speaking to my daughter), and that I too need my Father day by day, and seek His Face, day by day, and teach them to do so, what then have I given them, but the way, the truth, and the life? In other words, by honoring my God and Father, I give them the opportunity to honor Him also, and open the door early for an intimate & unshakable bond between them, and God our Father through Jesus Christ, God's Son. In our world, though we have these Words, this teaching, it is probably the most neglected teaching of them all; in fact, not once in my life and hundreds of sermons have I even heard this teaching spoken of, and I don't know why, but Jesus said it, and now I am beginning to see why.

Thoughts?​