My dad is a wonderful man. My first memories of him are playing sports with me. I remember playing goalie as he took shots at me in our basement hallway. One time, I got a cut over my left eye with the little block of wood we were using as a puck. At school the next day, I proudly told everyone that it was my dad who had done it to me.
I remember another time, as a young teenager, going with him out to a frozen pond to play hockey. I was wearing skates and he was in his boots. He had never skated his entire life and so I was surprised when he said, “Skating can’t be that tough! Here, let me put those skates on!” I took them off and he put them on. As he tried to get to his feet, his feet began to part wider and wider. He yelled, “Whoa!” and as he fell, he cracked the back of his head on the ice. I ran over to him as he laid on the ice, thinking, “He’s killed himself!” Fortunately, he came to and later told me that when he hit the ice, all he saw was stars.
While I was a teenager, I worked with him in the welding shop he ran as a business. He would say to the guys who came to the shop: “Look at Henry’s welding! He welds better than I do!” It was his effusive praise of me that gave me a feeling of self confidence that carries on to this day.
That’s why I was so sad when he died on January 16, 2004 at the age of 92. I really miss him today. I have some of his tools in my workshop and whenever I pick one of them up, it still gives me a warm feeling.
It’s interesting to me, therefore that, in the Bible, God chose to refer to Himself as a father. We see this from the Lord’s prayer which Jesus taught us to pray. He said, “When you pray, say, ‘Our father…’” Jesus Himself, whenever He spoke to Him referred to Him as “Father.”
Did you ever wonder why? It’s because God sees His relationship with us as a being part of a family. He becomes our father and we become His children. As the scripture puts it, “So now Jesus and the ones He makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them His brothers and sisters.” And we become children of God by receiving Jesus into our lives: “But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12
Now, unfortunately, some people struggle with the concept of God as father because, unlike me, they’ve had bad experiences with their earthly father. The great Reformation leader, Martin Luther, himself once said, “I have difficulty praying the Lord’s Prayer because whenever I say ‘Our Father’, I think of my father who was hard, unyielding and relentless. I cannot help but think of God that way…”
If you struggle with that in your life, my suggestion is that you see God as you wished your earthly father had been. Know that whereas your earthly father was imperfect, your Heavenly father is perfect. There are no bad moods, no fickleness, no unkept promises or venting stress by kicking the dog (or you…) If your earthly father always criticized you, see your Heavenly Father as being accepting. If he was unfaithful to his promises, see God as being faithful to His. Indeed, God is the perfect Father!
Therefore, we have a Father to whom we can turn to at any point, for any need in our lives. Say to Him, “Father… here is my situation…” Nothing can be more comforting than the realization you have someone who loves you and cares for you more than anyone else in the world.
“So you should not be like cowering, fearful slaves. You should behave instead like God’s very own children, adopted into His family—calling Him ‘Father, dear Father.’” Romans 8:15
