God is my daddy
There are many ways to view and begin to understand the Bible. One way is to see that it is the gradual revelation of who God is and how he wants to relate to us. On Father’s Day, we broke this down into three stages.
The Old Testament view of God was drawn out to the Israelites during their epic journey to the promised land.
Reflect
Put yourself into the shoes of one of those ancient travellers. What is your view of what God is like? How does it affect your relationship with him?
Here are a few words to describe that early revelation:
Jealous
Distant
Dangerous
Just
Pure
Deadly
All powerful
Can you add to the list, or maybe you disagree with some of the above and want to take some out?
Having grown up with this slightly terrifying picture of God, Jesus begins to introduce a completely new idea about who God is. Not only does he call God “My Father”, but he also calls God “Your Father”. Matthew chapter 6 and Ephesians 1 paint a picture of a God who is passionate about Fathering us. When he teaches his disciples a new way to pray he instructs them to address God as “Our Father”.
Reflect
What was it like for the disciples to learn about this completely new way of understanding God? How was this new view different from the old?
Here are some words that describe this new revelation of God:
Provider
Passionate carer
Parent
Father
Grace giver
Peace giver
Blesser
Can you add some or do you struggle to believe some of the words in this list?
Finally, we get a glimpse of something very precious. At his core, there is a loving daddy: “Abba” who delights to relate with us as if we are little children.
Go Deeper
What words would you like to use to describe Abba?
What, if anything, makes it difficult for you to experience an Abba relationship with God?
“Romans 8:14-15 NIV: For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.””
Missed Graham’s talk or want a refresher? Catch it here:
