Opening Prayer: Thank you, O Lord, that you really are a good, good father; one who always acts out of love and is always seeking my good. Help me to trust in your father-love, today and every day. Amen.
Scripture: Ephesians 3:14-15
Journal: What does it mean to you that God is our father? What images does this bring up in you? What wounds does it touch? What healing does it bring?
Reflection: “For this reason I kneel before the Father from whom all of fatherhood in heaven and earth derives its name.” (Ephesians 3:14-15) The fatherhood of God is the basis of, and the foundation for, all of life. Until we really believe that God is, indeed, a good and loving father, we will never be able to love and trust him, or each other, in the way he longs for us to.
Our earthly fathers were meant to give us a taste of this, but,
unfortunately, many of them were so broken that they were either unwilling or
unable to do so. Thus, for many, the only
picture of fatherhood available is lacking, if not downright hurtful. Our fathers were meant to love and protect
and be there for us, not wound, criticize, and abandon us.
Thus, we must somehow recapture the truth and the beauty of what God
intended fatherhood to be: a loving, caring, protecting, providing, pursuing presence. Someone who is both strong and tender. One who is always about our good.
That’s the kind of father God is.
In fact, when we roll the very best fathers in the history of fatherhood
all up into one, we are just beginning to see and understand the depth of his
fatherhood. God is the father we always
dreamt about in our wildest dreams. In
fact, he is far beyond that.
Prayer
Closing Prayer: “Lord Jesus, reveal me to the Father. Let His name, His infinite Father-love, the love with which He loved Thee, according to Your prayer, be in me. Then shall I say aright, ‘My Father!’ Then shall I apprehend Your teaching, and the first spontaneous breathing of my heart will be: ‘My Father, Your Name, Your Kingdom, Your Will.’ Amen.” —Andrew Murray
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