When you say the words from the Apostles Creed
I believe in God the Father almighty…
What goes through your mind?
What image of God comes to mind?
God the Father almighty is a very powerful image.
Those few short words say a lot about God.
They highlight 2 important aspects about God
First God is powerful
and second he is also our father
Another way to think about this is that God is concerned about and has power over everything in the universe
and at the same time He is desires to have a close loving personal fatherly relationship with me and you.
And these two aspects of God are not in competition.
The God who created and continues to create the world
the God who has the power to determine your future
is also the God who loves you as a loving Father.
There are a number of people throughout history who have been both in a powerful position and a loving dad.
Every day when Barack Obama wakes up
He is both the leader of the United States of America
one of the most powerful positions in the world
and He is also the father to Malia and Natasha
But there is a big difference between Obama and God
Obama is the leader of only the USA and will only be for a period of 8 years.
God is the leader of the entire universe and will always be its leader
Obama is not perfect
God is perfect
Obama is a father to only Malia and Natasha
God on the other hand is willing and able to be a loving father to everyone
So how does God being God the Father Almighty impact us
Nehemiah chapter 9 verse 6 clearly articulates one of God’s qualities
You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
Everything we see, smell, touch, hear or feel has been created by God
All of creation is a gift from God to not just you and me
Not just to those who follow Him
But to all of humanity.
And Psalm 19 which was our call to worship this morning also highlights that because God created the heavens and the earth
through them God blesses us and speaks to us
in other words creation reveals something of God to us…
Listen to verse 1 again
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Think about what this means for our lives.
From creation we get an insight, a sample of God and who He is.
Charles Spurgeon a famous preacher once said: “Surely everything that comes from the hand of the Master himself, surely has something of himself in it.”
Martin Luther also highlighted the importance of creation when it comes to faith in God.
He called creation the mask of God, with a mask not fully revealing God but also drawing us to God.
In other words when we interact with creation we will get some but not a complete revelation of God.
For Luther creation also helps us appreciate God and God helps us appreciate creation which he highlighted when he said: “if I believe in God’s son and bear in mind that He became man, all creatures will appear 100 more times beautiful to me than before. Then I will properly appreciate the sun, the moon, the stars, the trees, the apples and the pears as I reflect that these have all been created by the Lord who is over all and the reason for everything.”
There are many good things in creation….
Think about some of the wonderful food you have eaten
Remember some of the scenes you have seen
What about the beautiful sounds you have heard?
Or the wonderful aromas you have smelt?
Or the beautiful things you have touched?
Creation reveals some of God’s goodness
and when we have hearts open to not only what has been created but also who created it, there are many things to thank and praise God for.
A considerable number of astronauts have commented that their faith in God and His wonder have grown once they have gone into space and looked at the earth. Bryan O’Connor a former astronaut says: “I can tell you I felt a sense of awe out there looking at the Earth that I have never experienced before.”
So what does it mean to relate to God the Father the creator?
As we interact with creation we will be drawn to God!!
We will not just say look how good this cake is or how good this scene is
We will appreciate God more!!!
We will be like the scientist who is a Christian, that discovers something about our bodies and then marvels at God
We will be like the person who loves bush walking, taking in the sights, the noises and smells of the bush…who is amazed at how God has put all this together
Or the psychologist who in searching at how humans work and interact with each other, marvels at how God has made humans.
Having a relationship with the God the creator is really about allowing our interactions with creation to speak to us and to ask questions like:
What does this tell me about God?
What does this tell me about my relationship with God?
and how does this confirm some of God’s story with humanity that I find in the bible?
The other important aspect of relating to God the father, the creator is that God not only creates everything,
but also knows you personally.
One of the things Jim loved about his job, was that as the company grew the owners didn’t lose sight of who worked for them.
Every year on his birthday Jim would receive a phone call from His boss.
The conversation would be like a friend talking to him.
And when something happened in their families and the bosses heard about it.
The bosses would show they cared.
One day Jim’s mates wife became ill
His mate put in for some leave to help her
The next day His mate received a phone call from their boss saying a few of us have put together some meals would it be convenient for us to drop them around tonight? and is there anything else we can help you with?
And it is important that we see God this way too.
When the disciples were struggling with how to pray to God….
Jesus says in Luke 11 and Matthew 6
begin by saying pray...Our Father
and the actual Greek word for father that used is ABBA,
which means a father who desires to have a close personal caring and loving relationship with you
Do you see God this way as well?
Do you know that God truly loves you, not in some distant way, but in a way that is caring and loving?
Our Gospel reading today from Luke 15:11-32 of the prodigal son or as some refer to it the prodigal God is probably one of the best known stories of the bible.
In this story the father represents God
And is extremely generous to His sons….
even though one of his sons doesn’t really show him respect
but when the son realises his mistakes in life
and returns to his Father
his Father does something that was not only culturally inappropriate then
for many people today it would also be foolish
He welcomed the son back into his family
His Father put on the best party for him and his family
This is the God we worship
The God we worship is our loving Father…
Every time we turn back to him
Every time we acknowledge our sin and say we want to live with God and His way of life
God not only welcomes us back
But he welcomes us as one of his loved family members
He wants us to know we are loved.
So not only do we have a relationship with God the Father, the creator…
We also have a relationship with God the Father, the creator, who also is our loving Father…
and this means as Luther says in the small catechism
God invites us to relate to him as our true Father, so that with all boldness and confidence we may talk to just like we would talk to a father who dearly loves us.
And when we relate to God this way…..
we see that a personal loving relationship with God is important not only for ourselves but also for others….
because we have a God who really cares and is able to care us.
Amen
