GOD, THE FATHER

GOD, THE FATHER.

 

To me God is the Creator. He has done a wonderful job creating everything that has life in it. Just think of all the plants, fishes and birds. He has created so many different kinds. When I think of the birds coming every spring to the same place and the same nest before they return flying back to the other side of the globe. God has created all the animals, and He has created you and me as man and women. Every little detail fits together.

God is our Creator, but He is also our Father. If you are a child of God, I would  ask you: “Aren’t you proud of your Father?” I am. I am sure that you have heard conversations between children when they have boasted about their fathers. They will tell one story after the other, boasting about the merits of their father. Some fathers are firemen and they have rescued people through fire. Others are scientists and they have found a new medicine. Some are very famous in sports. These children are very proud of their fathers. Are you proud of your father in heaven?

When I was a child and a young person, I grew up in a religious home and I had a picture of God as a judge. I was afraid of being punished for doing something wrong. I could not smile on Good Friday. Nobody told me not to do so, but I felt so sorry for Jesus, suffering so much for me. Yes, Jesus suffered more than any of us can imagine, but He wants me to be thankful. In Norway we call that day for Long Friday, but I like the word Good Friday much better.

When I was over thirty, I began going to churches preaching about a good God. I needed to hear that quite often and God became my Father. He became one I could talk to, and He talked to me. I started to trust Him more than people.

In Matthew 6 we read about God taking care of nature as well as birds and animals. Jesus tells His disciples that His Father will care for His children even more and they can cast their worries on Him then knowing that He will take care of them. So many people have problems sleeping because of worries, but Jesus says that they should not worry about the day tomorrow. In Matthew 7 we read that if a child asks for bread, would the father give him a stone or if he asks for fish would he give him a serpent? Even an evil father would not do that. Our Father in heaven will give the best to His children. Do you have your identity in being a child of God?

Many children grew up without a father. Maybe the father died or maybe the mother was a single mother. Some fathers have worked in another place and many marriages have ended up in a divorce and the child might be torn between the mother and the father. I recommend parents to lay down their own problems and concentrate on the needs of the children. What is best for them?

Many people form their image of God based on their own experiences with their father. If they could not rely on their own father, they do not expect God to answer their prayers. God might listen to others, but not to them. I had a kind father, but a weak one and it took a long time before I could expect God to stand up for me and fight for me.

I like to sing songs like:” My God is so strong, and my God is so mighty that nothing is impossible for Him” I like to think of God as Almighty. My abilities and my resources are limited, but there are no limitations with God. It actually says in the Bible that nothing is impossible for those that believe, for those that believe in the Father. It matters what and who we believe in.

I want to show you that God is not only a good God, but He is full of love. I want to quote Romans 8:38+39:” For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God loves us so much that He sent His own Son to this world to become the sacrifice for the sins of the world. By being the perfect lamb for our sins, He opened a way for us human beings to come to the Father. Those of us that have accepted Jesus as our Saviour, are children of God, and we can come to God as our Father. He is available 24 hours a day. God was longing for relationship with us human beings, but sin had blocked that. Jesus opened a way for the children of God to have an intimate relationship with their Father and we can call Him Abba which means daddy.

Do you talk to Him? He talks to you through His Word and through His spirit. Do you take time to listen?  In psalm 23:6 it says that goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Do you stop long enough to receive it? God wants to bless us. The Bible is full of promises, but we must receive them. When somebody wants to give you a gift, you usually are thankful. God has given us the most precious gift, His only begotten Son. Through Him we are healed, and we have received peace. (Isaiah 53:4+5)

Jesus taught us how we should pray in Matthew 6:9: “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.” After that we  we start praying for our own needs, but we honor Him first.

LET US HONOR OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN!

Mother Else