I have known about the Fatherhood of God since I was a little boy in Primary School. I knew He must be Father because we were taught to say “Our Father, Who art in Heaven…..”. The Lords Prayer as taught by Jesus. The whole school said it together every day in Morning Assembly.
That’s all I knew – that people called Him Father, so that’s what He must be.
Everyone has different life experiences of what a father is like. Some will have had good experiences and others will have had a poor experience of being fathered. Perhaps you had a good relationship with your natural Father which has made it easy for you have a good grasp of what it means to have God as your Heavenly Father. If so, the rest of this might not apply to you – unless you can use it to help someone who struggles with all of this.
I wrote a note yesterday to someone whose understanding of Father God was incomplete, partly because of their own experience of their father, and partly because of what has been taught or implied in church. They had been left feeling that it is a struggle to relate to God, that it depends on them working hard at the relationship, doing enough, reading the Bible enough, praying enough and so on. I thought about my own experience as a father and how that seemed quite different from my friend’s experience with Heavenly Father. Here’s what I wrote….
“I am a father. I have a good relationship with my daughters. They have a good relationship with me. Very good. None of us are ‘trying’ or ‘working’ to make it successful. Our relationship is based entirely on love. Actually, they love me because I first loved them. (Sounds like a bible verse….) The moment each of them was born, I loved them. Before they had done anything, before they had had the chance to ‘try’ or ‘work’ to make a successful relationship, I loved them. Before they were capable of responding, I loved them, held them, protected them, fed them, changed them etc etc. I was committed to them absolutely.
They grew up in that love, knowing it, being secure in it. No need to try. No need to work. Our relationship is relaxed – completely. It is utterly enjoyable; fun, full of life.
I am there for them. My love doesn’t demand or expect anything. That would be performance, not love. They ring me to chat, not because they have to try or work to make a successful relationship with me, but because they want to chat. I ring them to chat, not because it would be good for them to “hear my voice”. I just want to chat. (In more normal times, we love spending time together).
My love for them is firmly established and there is nothing they can do to make me love them more, or love them less. And they know that. ‘Must’ and ‘Ought’ are words that have no place in a relationship of love. There is nothing they have to do. They can relax in my love. It is a place to relax for them. A place to be safe.
If they mess up, what will I do? Love them and walk through it with them. Life can be hard and complicated. I chose to bring them into this life; I am not going to abandon them. If they mess up, then it’s not about me and how I feel; it’s about how I can love them, support them through it and bring them through to the other side. Love is not selfish.
[Of course, if either of them were to do something to deliberately upset or annoy me without any attempt to put things right, that would disturb the harmony and ease of our relationship. It would not affect my love though. “Love never gives up, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance” (1 Corinthians 13)]
Now here’s the thing: I am just a human Father. I am not perfect. Ask my daughters! I get things wrong. How much better is Father God at being your Father than I ever was as a father to my children. Jesus once said this:
So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
Matt 7v11
Remember the Galatians? We talked about them last week. Their problem was that although they were saved by Grace they felt that they could only grow and continue by keeping rules and doing things (Law and Works)
Sadly, many Christians also think that although we were saved because of God’s outrageous Grace, we can’t possibly continue the relationship like that. Don’t we need structure, order, measurement, performance, work, effort, attainment etc to keep this relationship alive? Pray more, read more scripture, serve more, attend more, do more, learn more….. God may have started off as Father, but He ended up as Headmaster.
There is a well known phrase, “The chief end (goal) of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever”. (It is taken from the Westminster Confession). Enjoying Him starts now. Enjoying Him as your Father first leads to wanting to know His will and then to action – doing stuff. Too often we try to do it the other way round; hoping that ‘obey and do’ will lead to experiencing His love as Father. Knowing God and enjoying Him as your Father is the starting point, not the end goal.
Church is out there 