I have good news for you: God is not like your father—not at all. God is everything your father was not, and I urge you not to take your father’s failures and transfer them over to God. The Bible says, “As for God, His way is perfect” (Psalm 18:30).

What your father did was very wrong, and no doubt it’s left painful scars on the hearts and minds of everyone in his family—including you. Those emotional scars are hard to erase; in fact, they may be with you the rest of your life. But will you allow them to control you—or will you learn to control them? My prayer is that you won’t let the hurts of the past overcome you, but that you’ll discover new ways to overcome them—with God’s help.

Is this possible? The key is to discover one of life’s greatest truths: God loves you. He does not hate you, nor will He ever abandon you. Instead, He loves you, and He wants you to become part of His family forever. The proof is that He sent His only Son into the world to give His life for you. The Bible says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16).

By a simple prayer of faith ask Christ to come into your life and cleanse you of all your bitterness and anger and hurt. Then let the truth of God’s love for you flood your heart and mind every day. You’ll never be the same.