Faithful on Fridays Blog

The Father: Part Four

Being desired and chosen by God is a wonderful truth, however, have you ever considered your responsibilities as His child? Fatherhood wasn’t planned to be one-sided; He has expectations of His children. 

A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due Me? Malachi 1:6a 

Do you thus repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Is not He your Father, who created you, who made you and established you? Deuteronomy 32:6 

How do we, as children of God, repay the Father?

As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him.

Psalms 103:13 

What does the fear of the Lord look like? For me, it’s acknowledging His presence with thankfulness and appreciation. It’s caring about His opinion of me and my behavior. It’s being in awe of everything He does in my life responding with praise and worship. I want to care more about pleasing Him than pleasing myself. Hmmmmm

Another way is obedience. We do what He tells us to do: even when it hurts. Jesus said:

“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:44-45a 

Love my enemies? Pray for them? That sounds counter-productive, doesn’t it? Not in the life of a believer. 

Paul understood God’s fatherhood; you know he was a trained Pharisee and called God the Father over 40 times! When he wrote to the Roman Church he made reference to this passage from Isaiah:

But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we are all the work of Your hand. Isaiah 64:8 ESV

He speaks to the church now,

But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? Romans 9:20-21

Potters work with a lump of clay that spins on a wheel, molding it with his hands until form begins to take place. It’s all about the potter … not the clay.

Peter also understood God’s fatherhood.

And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of Him during your time here as ‘temporary residents’. 1 Peter 1:17 

There’s also an aspect of discipline or teaching from our Father. Hebrews 12:5-11 is an encouragement to accept His correction and grow from it; your Father disciplines for your good that you may share in His holiness. The Father’s expectation of you is His holiness, not perfection, but thinking, speaking, and acting differently from the world.