"As God has said: I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people... I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." 2 Cor. 6:16, 18
When it comes to the Trinity, the Father seems the most cut and dry. As His own entity, God the Father is the planner of all things that remained in Heaven to unfold His plan on earth. To return to last weeks image of man metaphor, the Father is the mind. He planned Creation and Redemption, masterminded them to fruition, and knows all things past, present and future. He is without time because He created time, so He sees it all at once. He knew all there was to know about you and me before He formed the world, and He knew that man would fail, so before He breathed the words of Creation, He had already determined the time to send a portion of Himself to earth, to become a man and die as a sacrifice of Redemption. But why do we call Him the Father?
Long before the New Covenant was sealed through the Messiah, God had established Himself as a Father to His people (2 Samuel 7:14). And like any good earthly father, He was always compassionate and patient, yet stern and disciplinarian when it was necessary (see almost any story from the Old Testament). In fact, His standard is the standard for being a good father. But as the people clung to sin and the idols of this world, they created a separation between themselves and God the Father.
So the Lord Almighty became an earthly Father. Mary was impregnated by the Breath of God (Luke 1 & 2), and the Son of God was born. And as Jesus sealed the New Covenant, He made all those who believed in His purpose heirs under the Father, making us sons and daughters of God (Gal.3:26). Through the sacrifice of His one Heavenly Son (a physically separated part of God), He ripped the veil that separated us from Him.
It was always difficult for me to understand the true, unconditional love God the Father had for His people. Why would God keep giving His people chance after chance, even eventually sacrificing His child so we could be near Him? Why would He allow His people to live, knowing we would continue to grieve Him, when all He had to do is wipe us all out with the flood and start over? What did we do to earn that kind of love?
It wasn't until I had a child of my own that I could even glimpse into His compassion. I have a difficult child, a wild two year old boy that has really never done anything to earn my love. He is often frustrating, and sometimes overwhelmingly destructive. Why do I love him? Because he exists. He was simply born, and from the moment I saw his face, I would die for him, without explanation. If I, a human, can love enough to die for my child, how much more can God the Father love His children. He did die for us, and it's because of that sacrifice that we can even be His children again. We are redeemed all thanks to the God of the Universe. And I'm so glad I can call Him Father.
God, thank You for being our Father, even though we have never done anything to deserve it. I'm so grateful You love me, and even though You knew from the start of everything I would struggle and fail, You chose to redeem me to You anyway. Praise you always, Father God. In Jesus' name, Amen.
When it comes to the Trinity, the Father seems the most cut and dry. As His own entity, God the Father is the planner of all things that remained in Heaven to unfold His plan on earth. To return to last weeks image of man metaphor, the Father is the mind. He planned Creation and Redemption, masterminded them to fruition, and knows all things past, present and future. He is without time because He created time, so He sees it all at once. He knew all there was to know about you and me before He formed the world, and He knew that man would fail, so before He breathed the words of Creation, He had already determined the time to send a portion of Himself to earth, to become a man and die as a sacrifice of Redemption. But why do we call Him the Father?
Long before the New Covenant was sealed through the Messiah, God had established Himself as a Father to His people (2 Samuel 7:14). And like any good earthly father, He was always compassionate and patient, yet stern and disciplinarian when it was necessary (see almost any story from the Old Testament). In fact, His standard is the standard for being a good father. But as the people clung to sin and the idols of this world, they created a separation between themselves and God the Father.
So the Lord Almighty became an earthly Father. Mary was impregnated by the Breath of God (Luke 1 & 2), and the Son of God was born. And as Jesus sealed the New Covenant, He made all those who believed in His purpose heirs under the Father, making us sons and daughters of God (Gal.3:26). Through the sacrifice of His one Heavenly Son (a physically separated part of God), He ripped the veil that separated us from Him.
It was always difficult for me to understand the true, unconditional love God the Father had for His people. Why would God keep giving His people chance after chance, even eventually sacrificing His child so we could be near Him? Why would He allow His people to live, knowing we would continue to grieve Him, when all He had to do is wipe us all out with the flood and start over? What did we do to earn that kind of love?
It wasn't until I had a child of my own that I could even glimpse into His compassion. I have a difficult child, a wild two year old boy that has really never done anything to earn my love. He is often frustrating, and sometimes overwhelmingly destructive. Why do I love him? Because he exists. He was simply born, and from the moment I saw his face, I would die for him, without explanation. If I, a human, can love enough to die for my child, how much more can God the Father love His children. He did die for us, and it's because of that sacrifice that we can even be His children again. We are redeemed all thanks to the God of the Universe. And I'm so glad I can call Him Father.
God, thank You for being our Father, even though we have never done anything to deserve it. I'm so grateful You love me, and even though You knew from the start of everything I would struggle and fail, You chose to redeem me to You anyway. Praise you always, Father God. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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