God As A Father

God as A Father

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be call the children of God! Therefore, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.”– 1 John 3:1

A small boy said, "Father’s Day is just like Mother’s Day, only you don’t spend as much on the gift.

We can embrace God as your Father no matter how much hurt an earthly father has caused. – Some one

Father is not an abstract word. Father is one of the first words that every little one learns to speak, whether “papa” or “daddy.” The same is true in the family of God. In fact, Jesus taught us that when we pray, we should say, “Our Father.”

There are some people who find it extremely difficult to think of God as their Father. Perhaps because of a challenge or a breakdown that they’ve had in their relationship with their earthly father.

Today, let us meditate how we as family, friends, or children can relate to God as a Father. Today 40% of children in the United States and in North America are going to sleep in homes which their fathers do not live in. 40%.

Now does every child need a father. Increasingly, our society's answer to that question is "no" or "not necessarily." But the Bible's answer to that question is a resounding "yes." Every child needs a father. Every child needs a father. Every growing child needs a father. Most astonishing of all, the Bible tells us that, through Jesus, every person has a Father. They have a perfect Father, the father of your dreams, when you come into the family of God.

The challenge for us, today in this society, is to understand the Fatherhood of God and understand who we are in relation to God in that way.

I John 3:1 says, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" That is what we are!

There are three truths that we need to realize and teach our children as they are growing up. The first truth is this:

I. God wants to relate to us as a Father:

God is our Father. God wants to relate to everyone of us as a Father. Now, that doesn't mean that God is male. In fact, in the Bible there are lots of beautiful comparisons about the warm, nurturing, kind, and caring aspects of God. He carried the nation of Israel in His womb. He cries out like a woman in labor. He birthed the Jewish nation. He has compassion on us like a mother has compassion for the baby at her breast. He nurses and nurtures us. He comforts as a mother comfort.

So why don't we call God "mother"? Why do we call God "Father"? That's a debate beginning to surface in many churches. And many denominations say there are beautiful comparisons in Scripture about God mothering us. So why do we call God “Father”? Why is it important for us to understand the Fatherhood of God?

The Obvious Reason:

The first reason we call God "Father" is a very obvious and understandable reason. It's almost too simple to be explained. It's because that's what He wants to be called. Throughout Scripture, He reveals Himself as Father.

The first person of the Trinity has many names. “Holy, Holy, Holy. God Almighty. & The Most Holy One.” But when Jesus came to tear away the veil and to open up the mystery to us of who God was, he revealed God as Father. In fact, He referred to God as Father more than any other name. The word that He used for God was “Father.” There are lots of other words and lots of other names for God; but "Father" is a very concrete word.

All of us have a clear idea of what "father" means or should mean. I don't know about you, but it's a little bit different from the other names of God: The Holy, Holy, Holy or Almighty One or Rock. Those are more conceptual names. They're particularly important names because they teach us about the character of God. But they're much more conceptual. They're not as concrete and personal.

Father is a Personal Being:

"Father" is a very personal name. It indicates a personal being. That's the second reason. The term "father" indicates a personal being. This is astounding. The implications of this are astonishing. God says, "I'm your Father." What that means is that God is someone we can get to know. It means that He is a personal being—someone we can bump up against in real flesh and blood, someone we can interact with, and someone we can become close, intimate, and personal with.