Why God Is First of All a Father
The following excerpt is taken from Dwayne’s upcoming book, Heaven’s Praise: Hearing Him Say Well Done.
You’ve no doubt heard the old saying, “You are what you eat.” That may be true of our bodies, but when it comes to our minds, emotions, and spirits, we are what we think. And the most profound thoughts any human can have are thoughts about God. That is precisely why our strategy and this first week of our study begin with an emphasis on thinking right. How we relate to him and how we believe he relates to us will impact every facet of what we do and who we become. So needless to say, we had better get our thinking straight about God!
Let’s compare three distinct and common relationships Christians often associate with God:
1. He’s the Boss; we’re the worker
2. He’s the Teacher; we’re the student
3. He’s the Father; we’re his child
Let’s assume God is primarily our Boss. What does a boss expect of his employees? He expects his employees to produce, to perform, to work hard and show results for their labor. But a boss has no interest in the workers beyond what they can do for him. And those who produce the most will win his favor. Those who lag behind and don’t perform up to his expectations will be reprimanded or fired. A boss in the purest sense feels little or no obligation toward the people who work for him because he is not motivated out of love for those employees.
I’m really thankful the God that’s revealed in the Bible is not primarily a boss, aren’t you?
Let’s say God is largely our Teacher. Read more…
