Father God by Susan Paul

The preacher used to wonder how God can be a loving Father after imagining a picture of a strict God in the Old Testament. But during her testing and lonely times after transfer to Kerala, she experienced firsthand the various facets of Him as the Heavenly Father. Protection, provision, care, security, discipline, encouragement, and guidance are a few aspects of God that we can understand as we relate these to our earthly father. The following are a few examples of the attributes we see of Him in the scriptures:

• Protect: Rescue of Hagar and Israel in Egypt.
• Provide: Manna and quail He provided for Israel's subsistence.
• Encouragement: Gideon hears an angel tells him that he is a mighty man of valor.
• Guide: In Exodus, God tells Moses He will put words in his mouth, and prepared and guided him.
• Comfort: Elijah
• Friend: Adam & Eve and David

When we read Romans 8: 14 to 17, we are really happy to know that we are heirs and co-heirs with Christ. We like to hear about blessings but have we actually accepted Him as a father? An equally relevant role that God plays in our life as father is that of disciplining us. But we don't want God as disciplinarian (Hebrews 12: 4 to 6) and sometimes we are like a child that starts crying the moment he sees the father with a rod. The preacher's father is ex-army and she got punishment not beating on being mischievous when he used army-style discipline. We can also think of God as father disciplining us. He moulds our character and we must be ready for it. When we don't understand this, we get angry. If we face adversity, it's like alarm and we must understand that something is wrong that needs correction. Jesus totally understood the father and so He was ready to do anything the Father wanted. We should aspire for a similar relationship with father God since we are co-heirs with Christ. In the book of John, Jesus talks about doing whatever the Father wanted. Jesus knew He came to die. What will be my response if Father tells me to die for sinners? But Jesus agreed and fulfilled His purpose. Let us examine how do we understand and know God and relate to Him. Scriptures reveal all the above characters of Him as a father. The love that father God gives us cannot be given by anyone else (He loved us so much that He sacrificed His only son so that we can be set free.). The more we understand Him, the better we can face life and challenges. Sometimes we tend to forget we have a father who really cares for us. We can't see the father's hand that holds us when we go through struggle. He has a purpose in our life and He can use it for His glory; like Christ said that let it be for His glory. He waits with arms open wide like the father for the prodigal son and let us live each day with this hope and the joy of meeting our father.

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Reflection by Shubha Jha