Understanding God as Fatherنموونە

WE ARE GOD’S CHILDREN

One thing we need to know and rest assured of is the truth that all of us who have received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour have become God’s children.

A Christian has on the inside of him the nature of God, which is the recreated spirit (2nd Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:10). Therefore, we are not illegitimate children. The Holy Spirit testifies to the fact that we are born of God (Romans 8:15–17 [TLB]). Have you accepted Christ into your life? Then you can rest assured that you are God’s own child. Now isn’t that a wonderful privilege? See John 14:6-7 and Ephesians 1:3-14. Please be sure to read them.

A LOOK AT THE FATHER

Now that we are assured by His Word that we are His children, let us take a look at the nature of our Father, because if you do not know who you claim to relate with, you would likely relate with an assumed image of who he is. So let us look at a few things concerning our Father as revealed in His Word.

1. God is good

To know that God is good is basic to our knowledge of Him. Though scriptures abound that say “God is good” (Psalm 106:1, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 118:1, Psalm 136:1, Psalm 145:9), several people do not believe this. For instance, how do you explain the outlook an average person takes if he were given a choice to ask for God’s opinion on the kind of car he should buy? He would readily say (though in his heart): “Surely God would give me a run-down second-hand old model so that I can learn humility. I’d better make my choice on my own.” Several people do not want God’s will because they feel God has only disaster in mind. Some feel God’s definition of goodness is different from ours, i.e, He may be so good that He would want your life to be miserable (for His own reason). Some are even afraid of God, as one would be of a wicked father. However, the Bible says “God is good,” and it means just that: ‘Good’ means morally excellent, agreeable, kind, loving, flawless; in short, virtuous. Therefore, we need to settle in our hearts that of all people that one should desire to spend holidays with, our God the Father is the best because He is good.

Get rid of every suspicion about God. He is not evil like man. Christ makes it clear to us that our God is a better Father than the best human father can be (Luke 11:11-13). Doesn’t that gladden your heart as it does mine? I have indeed seen some splendid earthly fathers; however, my heavenly Father is better than they all are. God is a good father.

Read Psalms 103:8-15 to know more of God’s attributes as a father.