Knowing God as Father
“If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. For everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new, and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian as opposed to merely Jewish, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God. “Father” is the Christian name for God.”
–J.I. Packer
I absolutely love this quote, which reminds us that Father is the Christian name for God. Over the past few months, Redeemed Girl has been studying the Beautiful Names of God, and none surpasses the name, Father. While God desires for us to know Him as a Father who loves us, protects us, provides for us, and cares for our needs; but all too often we have distorted views of God. We tend to project the image of our earthly father onto our Heavenly Father, and for women who experienced abandonment, abuse, or apathy, then their perception of God as Father is marred.
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
John 1:18
What is God the Father like? What is His character? Jesus came to make the Father known, and He made the way for us to become children of God. In this month’s teaching, we examine the heart of Abba, Father and discover our identity as His beloved.