This blog was written on June 19, 2012, but I forgot to post. I have updated information, below where I stopped writing on June 19, 2012.
It was such a busy day for me, I did not get a chance to call my father or my brothers. It was that busy. I also didn't have time to do much preparation for church, even though I was scheduled to speak.
We had been covering the book of Genesis, since the beginning of the year, and we had only just discussed Noah and the Flood last week. The minister indicated to me that she wanted me to continue on in the book of Genesis, since our goal, at the start of the year, was to complete a congregational study of the Old Testament.
I came to the realisation that when we think of the word "father", many things come to mind. It's not as simple, as it used to be.
Usually, when I think of "father", I think of "dad".
When I did an online search of "father", I think it was Wikipedia that listed "Natural/Biologic Father, Birth Father, Surprise Father, Posthumous Father, Teenage/Youth Father, Non-parental Father, Sperm Donor, and Baby Daddy".
I wondered about the attributes of a father. One site listed "Discipline, one who allows for mistakes, one who is open minded, one who teaches, accepts differences in kids, spends quality time with kids, leads by example, is supportive and loyal, challenges his kids, protects them, and loves them" as being the traits of a good father.
Jesus continuously portrayed God as a Father. He spoke of God's protection and provision and love for people. He encouraged people by telling them that they need not worry about the basic provisions of life, since God gives good gifts to His children.
In Matthew 7: 8 - 11 and again in Luke 11: 11 - 13, Jesus is seen speaking to the multitudes. He reasoned with them on a parental level when He asked, "Which of you, if your child asks for bread will give him stone to eat? Or which of you, if your child asks for a fish, would give him a snake? If you then will give good things to your children, how much more will God give to you?"
Over the last few months, we have been studying the book of Genesis, and the Fatherhood of God has been seen there.
How, you may ask, would one see the Fatherhood of God in scenes in which He expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden in Eden and caused a Flood to destroy the Earth and all life, except for those that were contained in the Ark.
When I think of the Fatherhood of God, I think of a God who provides, protects, forgives, is merciful, is long suffering, accepts me, is faithful to me, and who loves me. Is this the same God that we see in the Book of Genesis in those early chapters? Yes.
God created Heaven and Earth - all that is seen and unseen. God created every flower, every tree, every butterfly, every animal, every living thing. He created the beautiful Garden of Eden. And then He created Man and Woman and placed them in that beautiful place.
As parents, we do that. We provide homes for our children. In these homes we have beds and sofas and chairs and other furniture and ornaments.
Update: December 20, 2022
When I looked around my home, I saw evidences of my love for my children - the pictures on the wall, food in the refrigerator, provision of a clean and safe home for them.
There are rewards, for when we do good; and consequences, for when we do wrong. We provide these in the natural world for our children; and God does the same thing for us.
He keeps His Word - when He says that there are rewards and consequences. We see that in the Bible with Adam and Eve, with the people in Noah's days, and with the Jewish people throughout their history.
Now, one might challenge consequences as a means of showing love. Hebrews 12:6 says that "whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth."
When I leave my children to their own devices and ignore when they do wrong, I am encouraging them to continue to do wrong. I am saying that it is okay to do wrong. And, in doing so, I am demonstrating a lack of care and love for my children. I correct the child, who I love and care about. Sometimes it requires that I use positive and negative reinforcements in bringing up my children.
Positive reinforcements require providing rewards to encourage a behaviour; whereas, negative reinforcements provide consequences to change a behaviour.
Let me give you examples with my dogs.
When I am training my dog to sit or roll over or to stay, I might use treats or praises to reward the dog when it does what I want it to do. That would be a positive reinforcement.
On the other hand, if my dog starts to pull at me, during walks, and ignore my directions to it, I might gently tug on the leash and come to a full stop to bring the dog's attention back to me, so it remains focused on me, and so it reduces pulling. My dogs are very big, and pulling me during walks can be dangerous for me. My checking the dog with the leash is a reinforcement to reduce the negative behaviours. I follow that up with praises, when the dog does what I want it to do.
Something that we tend to overlook, when we look at God, is that Jesus portrayed God as the "good Father".
In Matthew 7:9-11, Jesus spoke about this. He said, "What man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (King James Version, 2017).
Let's look at two things, separately - the provisions from God, and God as Father.
Philippians 4:19 - "But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (KJV).
With Adam and Eve, God planted a beautiful garden and placed them in the garden. He provided trees and herbs with delicious foods for them. He allowed for perfect conditions, so that they would not be uncomfortable. When they sinned, He made a provision for the redemption of Mankind, and He provided suitable clothing to provide physical protection for Adam and Eve.
When we move further on into the Book of Genesis to Noah, we found that God provided the blueprint for Noah to build a huge ark that kept him, his family, and a lot of animals safe during the Great Flood, up until God allowed them to disembark safely from the ark, onto dry land.
I look back through my life and I have seen many instances in which I was protected from harm. I had great jobs. I had a roof over my head. I had a reliable car. I had good food. My children and I had all that we needed, and we were satisfied.
During times of uncertainty, when I worried about the future, He continued to bring me through events, so that once I was able to look back, I could see that He continued to provide, and He continued to be a good God and a good Father.
We tend to forget that God is the creator of this entire universe of billions of galaxies, and that there is nothing that He can't do for us.
Jesus continuously taught that God is Father - which was not how the Jewish people used to view God. Like most of us, they likely saw God as the Entity who did good things, when we were obedient; and who allowed bad things to happen to us, when we did bad.
Jesus taught that we are valuable to God (Luke 12:6-7), that He provides for us (Luke 12:22-30), that He is merciful to us (Matthew 23:32), and that He is protective of us (Matthew 10:29). We have moved from the place where we only saw God as Creator God, to where we acknowledge Him as Father.
Romans 8:15 tells us that we can now call God "Abba, Father", because we are now adopted into the Family of God. We are now sons and daughters of God (Romans 8:14, 16). It is a more intimate relationship with the Creator.
Not many of us have great fathers here on Earth. Our dads are human beings. Despite their best intentions, they sometimes make mistakes. But all of us have a Heavenly Father who will never fail us, and whose love is unquestionable.
My brothers are terrific fathers. I observe their relationships with their children, I see the enormous love they have for them, and I am so very proud to see God working through my brothers to demonstrate the Father's Love to these children.
My father had a very bad death a few years ago. Like the rest of my family, I miss him terribly. My ex father-in-law, who I thought very highly of, has also passed on to be with the Lord. I look forward to seeing them both in Heaven, when we are reunited because of our Father's Love.
Reference:
King James Standard Bible, 2017. Thomas Nelson, Nashville.
