Understanding our Heavenly Father through the lens of a good father.
There are so many names for God, but the one I believe God wants us to be most familiar with is the name of Abba (father/daddy). Now some of us might not have an understanding of a good father – either because he was non-existent in your life or horrible to your family. In my case, it was more of the former. But I think we all can figure out the difference between a good father and a bad one. Jesus points out this truth when He asks in Matthew 7:9-11:
Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
The point is that deep down we all know what a good father looks like. Even if you never had one you knew enough to see one and wish you had one like that. While I haven’t had personal experience of a “good father”, I strive to see God through that lens.
There are many reasons why seeing God through this viewpoint is necessary, but I think the most important one is being able to discern the heart of God among all the voices, dogma and confusion of the world. We can learn a lot of attributes of our heavenly Father, in the Bible.
Attributes of a Good Father
A good father loves his kids regardless of their behavior. In today’s world, we confuse love with approval of our behavior. But approval and unconditional love are not the same. You can totally love someone without approving of all of their behavior – especially if you know that behavior is hurtful to the individual and/or others. It is really important to understand this distinction. Every parent should already understand this. Every citizen should know this. I love my country. I don’t give my rubber stamp of approval on everything that goes on in it. Everyone who works should know this. You can have a job you absolutely love. But I guarantee that job has tasks that you absolutely detest, and would delegate in a heartbeat. God loves all of us. He doesn’t approve of our sinful ways.
A good father does not use evil to teach his children a lesson. Religion would have us believe that God sends sickness, kills relatives and friends, and sends destruction our way to make us better. There’s no good parent alive that is hoping their kid gets cancer so they can learn some humility. Why in the world would we believe this of God?
The Bible says that He uses – keyword here – all things to work together for our good (Romans 8:28). Of course there are lessons to learn and growth to be gained in EVERY situation. It is for those lessons, strength and testimony that we later thank God. Because He’s able to take the worse situations and pull some good from it.
Unlike a lot of other religions, good and evil does not originate from God. In James 1:17, it says “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Good gifts from a good father.
A good father’s first inclination is to welcome the prodigal with open arms. In the story of the Prodigal Son, Jesus gives us a clear example of a forgiving and gracious father – one that is looking for us daily and running toward us as soon as He sees us on the horizon. He never asked his son what he did. Never demanded groveling. Didn’t guilt him with condescending words. First Peter 4:8 says that “love covers a multitude of sins” and our Heavenly Father is quick to do so.
This is love beyond what we can fully comprehend, because as humans, we relish in the “I told you so”. Notice, again, that love covers; it doesn’t accept or make excuses for. That is love that forgives us when we repent, and removes our sin as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).
(Parenthetical insert: I find it kind of funny how the world likes to act as if they are so much more loving and accepting than God. But cross them and you’ll find how hateful, unforgiving and ungracious they are. Even if you are repentant, they expect penance for your “trespass”. Totally unlike our Heavenly Father.)
Yes, sin comes with a price that you may still have to pay, but your Heavenly Father will be with you to lovingly support you in your restitution and redemption.
Discerning the Father
Seeing God as a good father helps us cut through the error of religion and the distortion of the world. We can know the heart of our Heavenly Father when we consider the heart of a good, loving father on earth.
Next time you’re presented with an image of God, hold it up to this litmus test. Whether the description comes through a sitcom, a commercial, a book, a friend, or even a pastor, it is crucial that we run it by the “Good Father” test according to the Word of God. Holding it up to the world’s standard would create a distorted view that disappoints. Holding it up to someone’s skewed version of fatherhood can also create confusion about the goodness of God. I’ve spoken a bit on how even Christians can taint the view.
It is important that we read the Word so we can get a good image of God, and always compare what we see and hear to that standard. And as much as we can imagine, know that God is so much more! So much better than the best father we can think of! Do you see a good father here on earth? Your heavenly Father is even more so. He’s a good, good Father!
