Father (and Mother)
When God rescues us and forgives our sin, His Spirit assures us that we are God's children, adopted yes, but fully and legitimately regarded as nothing less than His children. We are doubly children of God: He created us, but we rebelled, and when we could not come back ourselves, He bought us back and adopted us.God is our Father. Some would say God reveals Himself as Father. That implies that God, wanting to reveal Himself to humanity, looked for metaphors to explain and illustrate His nature to a patriarchal culture like Israel's, He chose the image of a Father because they were familiar with it.
But I want to suggest a different approach... God doesn't reveal Himself as our Father, God is Father. Because we are created in His image, we, when we are at our best, are echoes of His nature as Father (and also Mother.) This resolves a crisis people have when their earthly fathers were abusive or absent. If they start with their earthly fathers as the standard for fatherhood, then God-as-father is a tough image. If they start with God as the "gold-standard" for fatherhood, then they can come to a place of saying: "My earthly father failed to live up to the call to Fatherhood that God placed in him, but in God (and in the godly men in my church community), I can experience Fatherhood as it was meant to be."
What is God's standard of Fatherhood? Compassion, Grace, Comfort, Protection, Provision, Safety, Nurture, Strength and Love. (We could talk about this all day!)
Interestingly enough, God is also Mother. Although there are fewer images in the Scriptures, they are there. In Isaiah 49:15 Isaiah suggests that even if it were possible for an earthly mother to forget a child, it will not happen with God. Earthly mothers too are created in the image of God. God transcends male and female. Both men and women are equally representative of the image of God and each partially reflect the fullness of God.
When earthly fathers and mothers fail, they're not just failing some role society has created, they are failing the role that God's image in them has called them to. When earthly mothers and fathers do well, they are reflecting the fullness of their Creator.
Paul, beautifully explains a close and intimate relationship that we can experience with God through the Holy Spirit's prompting and connection. The Aramaic word "Abba" is an intimate word. People often translate it as "Daddy" or "Pappa" but it is not only used by young children. A young man, turning to his father for advice and counsel, would also say "Abba". Abba means endearment and deep trust.
| The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to full legal standing as a child and heir of God. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs---heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans8:15-17) |
