He Will Be Called: Everlasting Father

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

In today's culture a lot of people -- too many -- seem to believe the job of the Father begins and ends at conception. But in fact, the germination of new life is only one part of what we do. A father also cultivates that life. Trains that child up, and provides for her needs. In fact, I would argue that it is all that stuff -- the building and care of a family -- that truly makes one a Father. 

Joseph, Mary's husband, played no part in the conception of the child Jesus. Yet, here on Earth, he filled the role of father from the beginning. When he discovered his young wife-to-be was pregnant, his instinct was to run. Not his kid; not his responsibility. 

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,^[f] because he will save his people from their sins.”
²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”^[g] (which means “God with us”).
²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. (Matthew 1:20-25)

When Joseph took Mary as his wife, he also accepted the responsibility of Fatherhood to her child. Twice in this passage, we see it fell to Joseph to name the baby. Why? Because from that time on, Jesus was his son, too. It was a responsibility he took seriously, right from the beginning. He found a place to stay, warm and dry, if not ideal, for the birth of his son. He trained Him up, taking Him to synagogue and teaching Him how to live and behave. And he loved Him.

In turn, Jesus is the Everlasting Father. He cultivates the relationship with us, His family. He teaches us and builds us up. He molds us into men and women in his own image. 

I love my children, and do my best to train them up in the Way they should go. Someday, though, I'm not going to be here for them. I'll do what I can while I'm here, but someday I'll be taken from their midst, and they won't be able to turn to me and ask for advice or assistance, or just for the assurance of my love for them. 

But Jesus is their Everlasting Father. He loved them before they were born. He loves them -- and us -- still. And He always will.