Fortress of Faith- Study Three: Pillars of Faith

Pillar One- God the Father

 

When we think of "father," no doubt we have many different preconceptions associated with the person who fits that role in our lives. 

 

What characteristics do we ascribe to men we consider to be "good" fathers? 

 

Do we think they must be strong, handsome, fearless, masculine, tough? 

 

Do we think they should be men who demand respect and honor? 

 

Have our experiences with our human father left us full of love or empty and wanting?

 

No doubt, we each have a little different idea of what makes a good father.  However, our God, our Heavenly Father, has set the bar for fathers.  He has been an example of the perfect Father, as well as offering us insights into the characteristics that drive His actions in our lives.

 

First, we must acknowledge that God is not just our Creator.  He did not just say "do it," and it was done.  He is omnipotent and omniscient and a million other things that make Him God.  However, He did not just make us to then leave us to our own designs.  Our Lord created us with the intention of having a relationship with us.  He created us with the intention of watching us grow, of leading us on our way, of reveling in our successes, weeping with us in our sadness, and carrying us through our struggles.  Our God the Creator did not create us and then leave us alone.  

 

Jesus acknowledges this fact when He instructs us how to pray.

 

“This, then, is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name', " 

~Matthew 6 v 9

 

Throughout Jesus' life among us, he repeatedly spoke of His Father in Heaven.  As young as a pre-teen boy who wandered off to be found among the adult men in the temple, Jesus described His own relationship with God as a Father-Son relationship.  However, in the prayer Jesus gives us, He makes it clear, that we too are children of God the Father.  We too have an opportunity to have that Father-child relationship.

 

Second, God our Father is not an absentee father.  The Bible is testament through its myriad of recollections that our Father is present in the movement of this life.  Psalms 121 v 5-8 speak of our God as one who watches over us, who cares about the lives we live, and the struggles we might face.  Psalm 85 v 5 and 1 Thessalonians 4 v 9 both speak of how our Father teaches us; He specifically teaches us how to love as He loved us.  Because of His love for us, the Bible also tells us that He sometimes disciplines us (Psalm 3 v 11-12), just as we would expect a human father to discipline his own child out of love.  The Bible goes on to speak of the presence of our Father, saying that He remains close to the broken-hearted (Psalm 34 v 18).  From cover to cover of our Bible, we can find evidence of a loving, but just God (Nahum 1 v 3)- acting just as a Father concerned for His children acts.

 

Third, God our Father has all the attributes of the Perfect Father.  He is a prime example of what fathers should strive to be.  Our Father is strong, but loving (Psalm 62 v 11-12).  He is slow to anger, compassionate, and merciful (Psalm 103 v 8-13).  He is forgiving and good (Psalm 86 v 5).  Plus, He is not just our Father, but He is also open to adopting.  Psalm 68 v 5 says that He is Father to the fatherless.  Of course, this means two things- He is Father to all the literal orphans and left-behind children this world has seen and will ever see, and He is Father even to those who never call upon His name and join the Christian family. 

 

Finally, our Father does not expect nor demand perfection.  Though many people today shrug off Christianity condemning us all as hypocrites, because they mistakenly believe we must strive to be perfect to meet standards of perfection, which of course, we cannot come close to living up to.  No, He does not demand perfection, as most human father's do not of their own children.  On the contrary, He expects us to TRY our best.  He expects us to do the BEST that we are capable of.  He expects us to use the GIFTS He has given us.  Do our human father's not expect the same things from their children?   No, He does not expect perfection, and knowing that we are imperfect, He offers us forgiveness, mercy, grace, hope, and SALVATION.

 

Have you come to know our God to be your Father?

 

Would you say that you have a relationship with our Father?  What does that relationship look like?

 

Did you have preconceived notions of a harsh God, a distant God, one who does not truly care about you and your life?   Has that changed?  Would you like that to change?

 

This week, I challenge you to read the verses included in the text of this study.  Think on the ones that stand out to you the most.  Consider why they stand out to you.  Then practice praying to our Father as though you were speaking to your human father.  Consider if God the Father were physically in front of you, what would you say to Him?  What do you think He might say to you?

 

 God bless you!