Father-Daughter Bonding

I love the way God takes us through different stages of our life and chooses to display a different characteristic of Himself to us throughout those various stages. He goes by so many names, but perhaps the most powerful, and all-encompassing name we can call Him is 'Father'. 

I have heard this name of God my whole life, and I have listened to countless teachers talk about this attribute of God, but it wasn't until very recently that I started to let it grab my heart.

One morning I was searching through a list of podcast subscriptions that I like, and I randomly chose to listen to the Keller sermon entitled "Our Father". I enjoyed this sermon so much, because it clearly demonstrates the difference between feeling like we have to prove ourselves as worthy of The Lord and simply being worthy because of Him. He explains that those who feel they must prove themselves see God as a landlord- we pay Him to stay here, and when we do well with our expectations as a tenant, He somehow owes us something. I have been in this situation more times than I care to count, and it makes for a very heartless relationship with the very Lover of my soul. 

Keller then goes on to describe that when we see God as Father, we joyfully understand that we are NOT worthy in and of ourselves, but that He loves us enough to call us His very own in the midst of our dysfunction. He describes the family of God as one that is full of dysfunction, but it is also full of children learning how to see themselves as God sees them- worthy. I love this! The fact that we are deemed 'worthy' brings so much freedom when we let it go beyond a business relationship with God and into one that is marked by grace.

This idea of having a familial relationship with God has been stuck in my mind since I heard that message, and it came up again when I was at church on Sunday. Our pastor spoke of how being worthy is both walking in the grace of God and letting that sense of worthiness drive us to live in such a way that aims to please Him. We want to please Him because we love Him. We want to please Him because we are grateful. We want to please Him because He's family.

It's a strange concept to think that we please Him because we are His kids (with our messy metaphoric life finger paintings), but we also please Him by honoring Him with our lives. I am still discovering who our Father is, but I can tell you confidently that seeing Him as such has caused a deep yearning within me to just 'be' with Him. I'm so tired of the parts of me that feel like I have to win Bible drills and get people 'saved' to prove my Christian-ness! I'm just me, God's daughter, making a mess, but learning how to laugh as He helps me clean it up. If God leads me to share with someone, I will, but it won't be a performance. It will be because my Father asked me to, and I love Him.

Thanks for being my Father, Lord. Thanks for seeing me as complete because of what Jesus has done. Help me remember what You are showing me, because it's my favorite! I am so grateful for Your compassion toward us in the midst of your perfect holiness. I am amazed!