Should We Call Every Day Father’s Day?

Today isn’t Father’s Day.  The calendar still says it’s more than five months until we celebrate the holiday here in the U.S.  But today IS the anniversary of my Dad’s birth.  There’s no party today, because he passed away almost 10 years ago.  But besides noticing the date on the calendar, I was reminded of him because we examined what is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer in church today.  Since the King James Version of that passage is the one most of us could quote by memory, here it is:

Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  10 Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.  11 Give us this day our daily bread.  12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.   Matthew 6:9-13

As I recited the words today, it struck me as significant that Jesus taught us to refer to HIS Father as OUR Father.  I believe it’s significant because the impression most folks have about God is that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was demanding and rigid.  Most folks may have deemed Him unreachable and barely knowable.  Yet into this Jewish culture, Jesus speaks about God as being a “Father” – OUR Father.  I had to wonder what the disciples must have thought about such a personal title for such a majestic and holy God?

Though I’ve been teaching the Bible for a long time, I had to wonder about the first usage of the term “Father” in Scripture in reference to the Creator God.  It seems that Jesus’ words may not have been as ground-breaking as I originally supposed.  Because the Jews of Jesus’ day already understood that the God who created them, the God who led them from bondage through the desert, the God who provided Judges and Kings, and who had just revealed their Redeemer, had always referred to Himself as “Father”. 

Among the last words Moses spoke to the assembled Jews before Joshua took over were these:

Do you thus deal with the Lord, O foolish and unwise people?  Is He not your Father, who bought you?  Has He not made you and established you?   Deuteronomy 32:6

Often, God’s prophets, speaking on His behalf, echoed the same imagery in trying to redirect the hearts of His people:

They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a Father to Israel…   Jeremiah 31:9

Doubtless You are our Father, Though Abraham was ignorant of us, And Israel does not acknowledge us.  You, O Lord, are our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.   Isaiah 63:16

David rejoiced over the generosity of his people as they prepared for Solomon to build a great temple to honor God:

“Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.  11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all.  12 Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all.  In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all.  13 “Now therefore, our God, We thank You And praise Your glorious name.   2 Chronicles 29:10-13

In fact, the truths found in the Lord’s Prayer almost echo the prayer of David, 1,000 years before Jesus came. It’s important for all of us to know that our Creator God has always had a Father’s heart.  What’s a father’s heart supposed to be like?  A heart that’s filled with truth, with expectation, that seeks only good, and that’s sure to provide both love and discipline.  That sure sounds like my Heavenly Father.  It even sounds a lot like the fellow I used to call Dad. 

Jacob