With only a few days to go until Father’s day Becky Peacock helps Chirsitian parents to grasp the full importance of God being our heavenly Father.
With Father’s Day just around the corner you’ve probably begun to notice that the shelves have filled up with bright ties and blue socks declaring “BEST DAD EVER” and “DAD YOU’RE ROARSOME!” (who actually buys those?) Teachers are scrolling Pinterest for new ideas of cute crafts, and our kids are spending their days creating beautifully unique handprint cards - just like everybody else! Whilst this day is quite rightly a celebration of the men in our lives who care so wonderfully for their families, it is also a painful reminder of what has been lacking for so many others.
In the UK today there are 2.7 million children growing up without a father, that’s a staggering 1 in 5 children. When my children sit in class to make their Father’s Day cards this year there’ll be half a dozen of their friends who won’t have a dad to give theirs to. When we gather at church that morning there’ll be kids there without stories of breakfasts in bed and garish gifts given. Instead, they’ll be processing why their family is different, why their mum is apparently not enough, why we keep comparing a God who is good with a man who is not.
Can’t we just ignore the ‘Father’ bit?
Maybe those questions have been surfacing through hard seasons with your own children already, or maybe you wonder why it even matters that God is a Father at all. In today’s culture of equality and feminism why can’t God be ‘mother’ instead? Why do we use parental language anyway when we could just say ‘saviour’ ‘creator’ ‘ruler’ or ‘Lord’ and keep everyone happy? What difference does it make that God is Father?
the WORLD’S BEST DAD is not a good man who’ll receive a cute card on Sunday, but he is the Father that this hurting world needs
At the risk of giving the most frustrating parental response ever, it’s simply because he said so! God made men and women in his image and therefore it should be no surprise that the scriptures describe God’s nurturing compassionate care for his people in a way we have come to associate with mothers (Is 42:14, Ps 131:2, Matt 23:37). However, the Bible consistently and overwhelmingly describes God as “Father”. In John 5 Jesus unashamedly claims that God is his Father, this was radically offensive to the Jewish authorities who wouldn’t dare use such personal language for such a powerful God. But he isn’t just ‘ruler’ or ‘creator’ sitting high and lofty in his heavenly abode watching and judging his subjects below, he is a Father passionately invested in the lives of his children. It is right to call God saviour, creator, ruler, and Lord but there is something fundamental about God’s character that we will miss if we ignore that he is primarily Father.
Before creation began, before time started ticking and grass started growing, before children were born and parents were tired, before it all began God was Father. God the eternal Father existed in perfect relationship with Christ the eternal Son and with the Holy Spirit since before the world was formed. Long before God was ‘creator’ or ‘saviour’, before he had anyone or anything to rule or lord over, he was Father.
God as Father in the Bible
Knowing God as Father completely changes our understanding of why and how he works. You see, when God created humans, he did that as a loving Father not a power-hungry ruler. When God parted the sea, provided food in the wilderness, and defeated their enemies he did that as a Father caring for his children. When God sent his only begotten Son into the world as a helpless baby to save undeserving people, he did that as a forgiving, gracious, generous Father.
God as Father is radically good news for a hurting world and for broken families
He is our Father. In Matthew 6 Jesus tells us we should pray “Father” (Matt 6:9). John reminds us of the great love of the Father who welcomes us and calls us his children. (1 John 3:1) Paul reminds us of the Father’s comfort (1 Cor 1:3-4), his good provision and blessing (Eph 1:3), and his loving care when we call to him (Rom 8:15). He is a Father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:5), a Father to the wayward Israelites (Isa 63:16), a Father who created and established us wayward fools too (Deut 32:6). Like Jesus we can cry out to our Heavenly Father and claim all the benefits of being adopted sons and daughters of the only truly good and faithful Father.
Earthly fathers and God THE Father
A good father is ongoingly patient. He loves his children even when they’re horrible. He forgives them even when he’s hurt. He provides for them even if that means he suffers. He cares for them even if they are far away. He disciplines them even if it makes them sad. He is generous and patient, he is faithful and steadfast, he cheers them on, prepares their path, and plays the long game. He isn’t going anywhere. He is with them, he loves them, he is for them.
Maybe this describes a father you know, and if it does you should thank him! We know even the good dads in our world don’t live this out perfectly all of the time, and sadly too many others fail to even model it some of the time. But God isn’t just a good Father, he is The Father. God is not called ‘Father’ because He is like our earthly fathers, but because they are supposed to be like Him. He is the ultimate #1 DAD; the SUPER DAD that all subsequent dad’s should follow.
Read more:
Answering your child’s questions: Aren’t all religions basically the same?
Answering your child’s questions: What does God look like?
If you want to know what God the Father is like, don’t look at your earthly father and try to imagine an improved version, look at how Christ describes him in Luke 15. Jesus paints the picture of a passionate Father who relentlessly loves a wayward child and his resentful brother. The first son rudely insists on his inheritance, turning his back on His Father, and squandering the family’s wealth on frivolous living. The older brother stays home but his heart is far away, full of anger and pride. The prodigal Father is not hard towards his sons, instead he is present and patient, generous and gentle, compassionate and kind. He is endlessly loving, radically forgiving, and waiting to welcome the wayward ones home.
If you, or your children, are wondering “why is God a Father?” then be encouraged that the WORLD’S BEST DAD is not a good man who’ll receive a cute card on Sunday, but he is the Father that this hurting world needs. Father God is not simply an awkward title bearing painful connotations which we can skirt over and replace to make God more palatable. God as Father is radically good news for a hurting world and for broken families, it is a high calling for dads and a promise for children. God is our Father and that is an utterly ROARSOME truth that is certainly worth celebrating.
