"A father to the fatherless,
a defender of widows is God
in His holy habitation."
Psalm 68:5
A man said to his pastor, "When I read in the Bible about God being our Father, I have trouble really understanding what that means. You see, my father died when I was too young to remember him. As I grew up and saw other boys with their dads, I tried to imagine what it would be like to really have my own dad. I trust God to be the only Father I have ever known." The pastor said, "I can assure you that God wants to be a real father to you. The Bible teaches that He is a father to the fatherless."
The Bible teaches in the Old Testament that God is the Father to all who are His children in a faith relationship. He is even a father to the fatherless. In the New Testament, Jesus taught in parables and by example what it means to know God as Father. God adopts us into His family by faith in Jesus Christ, that we may know Him as Father (Romans 8:15-17). Jesus taught us to address God as Father in prayer. In Luke 15, He taught in parable what God is like as our Father.
Do you know God as your Father? It's more than an academic acceptance of Bible knowledge. It's experiencing the loving care of the Father in our lives. It's talking to God in conversation as prayer, knowing that we are speaking to the One who loves us unconditionally. Many times we may have false ideas about who God really is. When we trust Him as our loving Father, we have discovered who God really wants to be in our lives. It's more than knowing about God as Father. It's knowing God as our Father.
Prayer: Father in heaven, we desire to experience You as our Father throughout life and for eternity, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
