God is our Father. That’s “Christianity 101,” right? When I was a child, I had trouble making sense of that idea. It was difficult to believe that God was good and that He had my best interests in mind. As I discovered, however, that was not because God was bad or wanted to hurt me; it was because of my experiences with my earthly father. The great news is that once I had children of my own, I gained a much better understanding of the fatherhood of God. With every ounce of my being, I strove to be a different dad than the one I grew up fearing. I worked hard to point my kids toward God, not away from Him.
When I was young, I walked on eggshells as I dreaded my dad’s intimidating behavior and the punishment he would dole out if I disobeyed. Naturally, I felt like God was primarily a being to be feared and that He was always ready to “zap” me if I stepped out of line. Maybe you can relate. If you dealt with a harsh, absent, or demanding father, you probably believed, at least at some point, that God was the same way. On the other hand, if your dad was loving, caring, patient, and involved in your life, you likely believed that God had those same character traits.
The most important thing about each one of us is what we think about God, because that’s the basis of our faith. And what we believe about God will determine how we behave. As Jackie Hill Perry wrote, “If God is holy, then He can’t sin. If God can’t sin, then He can’t sin against me. If He can’t sin against me, shouldn’t that make Him the most trustworthy being there is?”
Starting in mid-September, we’ll go through a new message series that we’re calling, What Do You Think About God? This series will examine our thoughts on God, our ideas of who He is, and how those things shape our actions as we live in this world. Despite the tremendous impact our earthly fathers had on us, God is not the same as those dads, no matter how bad or good they were to us. God is our Father, but He’s not a better, more improved version of us. He is holy. He is utterly and completely different, and that’s the best news ever. Because He is holy, He can and should be trusted. As a result, we can place our faith in who He has revealed Himself to be, not in who we’ve made Him out to be.
In our message series, we’ll also talk about the good reasons to follow God, and how He knows and wants what’s best for us. With that foundation, we’re inspired toward a genuine faith, trust, and sincere desire to please Him, instead of living with guilt and obeying because we fear punishment, both now and forever. So, what do you think about God?
Troy Burns