Don't Take Your Father For Granted
The Bulletin
One of the greatest proofs of the God of the Bible is that we cannot put Him in any box.
The human mind cannot grasp all that He embodies all at once. While every other culture’s god is easily understandable—they act just the way we think they should, or the way we humans would in their situation—the God of the Bible runs counter to each person’s instincts.
To those who want a strong-headed, hard-nosed God, He reminds them He is gentle and gracious. To those who want a God of all grace and acceptance, He reminds them He is perfectly holy and just.
He is at the same time our Judge, our King, our Law-giver, and our Father. Sometimes it’s that last one that is hardest to grasp.
Though God called Himself a Father to Israel in the Old Testament, the term was not one that was used often to describe Him until Jesus’ ministry.
Jesus taught us to pray to “Our Father, who art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). He explained that God gives good gifts when His children ask, just as any father would—only better (7:11). It is our Father who sees our secret devotion to Him and rewards our faithfulness (6:6).
It’s very easy to think of God conceptually without thinking of Him relationally. For many people who have strained relationships with their earthly fathers, it can be hard to understand God’s love or His desire for a relationship with you. But God is not a far off being who expects cold obedience from us.
Rather, He is a Father who is near. He cares. Yes, He looked down on Jesus and declared “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (3:17). Of course He did. Jesus was equally God and was here as the sinless Servant. But, amazingly, because of Jesus’ saving work, the Father views you and me as well-pleasing children, too (Hebrews 13:20-21).
Though there was nothing we could ever do to deserve it, God has brought us into His family. What an incredible blessing it is to be a child a God.
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