The Bible is full of metaphors and names for God. For example, bridegroom, king, judge, shepherd, friend, brother, the list goes on. These metaphors for God shouldn’t be taken too literal, I do, however, believe there is a sense of literalism. It can be dangerous to entirely view God as a judge or king… these names aren’t fully descriptive of God. Yet, there is one metaphor and that was who Jesus refereed God as, FATHER.

The word Father is used 178 times in the new testament. In the old testament father is used to describe God, but only as a father to the nation of Israel, never as being Father of an individual. In the old testament when the God was referred to as father it always implied distance. Now, the word Abba is used only 3 times in the new testament. Abba, is like saying daddy, think about when you were a little kid, your full of love and trust towards your dad, you weren’t ever afraid to call him DADDY! “Mom, when is DADDY coming home from work!?” “Goodnight DADDY I love you!” And what is crazy, Jesus put a little kid on his knee not to tell the kid to become like his disciples, but for His disciples to become like this little kid!

God and Father were always one to Jesus. God is firstly and lastly Father, sometimes it is necessary to view God as a Husband or a king, but God being a Father must always be central. This is the foundation of Christianity and if you don’t view God as Father you don’t understand Christianity.

I grew up in a wonderful home, my parents took care us, never divorced, and hardly ever fought. Sometimes, to be honest I have trouble viewing God as a loving Father. Because in scripture He is so full of goodness that it is hard for me to believe! I know many of us have grown up with a an abusive father or didn’t even have a dad growing up. I can’t imagine what that was like… but I have seen the product of someone not having a father over and over. Unless, the person met and fell in love Jesus, they didn’t  turned out normal.

Winkie Pratney says that before God established any other institute He established the HOME. The home consist of a father and mother who were to be a finite reflection of God. Between the mother and father God was to be fully represented. Think of it this way, your father provided security and money for provisions (for a home, car, food, etc) yet your mother should know you more intimately (what time you need to go to bed, when to eat, what you like to eat, you favorite toys, etc, etc) Together God consist of all of these things! He is a provider, He even knows the number of hairs on your head!

Jesus has given us the right to become sons and daughters, by the Holy Spirit we learn to cry ABBA, DADDY! I know that this world is fallen… and the Devil loves to destroy the family and by doing this he makes it so easy for people to hate God. I would like to end with a quote from John Dawson,

“I once had to hold my screaming two-year-old while a doctor stitched a large gash in his forehead. He quickly forgot his painful experience and fell asleep in my arms. But I was tormented by the experience and grieved for hours. You have forgotten most of your pains, but God has not. He has perfect recall of every moment of your life. Your tears are still mingled with His at this very moment.

God was there when you experienced cruel teasing in the school yard and you walked alone avoiding the eyes of others. When you sat in a math class confused and dejected, He was with you. At the age of four when you got lost at the county fair and wandered terrified through the huge crowd, it was God who turned the heart of that kind lady who helped you find your mother. “I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love.” (Hosea 11:4 NIV)

Sometimes we don’t understand what a fussy, doting Father God is. Your parents may proudly display bronzed baby booties on the mantle, pictures in an album, or trophies on the wall-but how does that compare with God’s infinite capacity to be overjoyed with your every success? It was actually God who heard you speak your first real word. The hours you spent alone exploring new textures with baby hands were a delight to your Heavenly Father. Some of His greatest treasures are the memories of your childhood laughter. There has never been another child like you, and there never will be.”

There are two types of types of compassions that I have learned. One, naive compassion is when somebody says something like this, “if only somebody would love them, then they would come to Jesus.” The other type of compassion is real compassion. Through this compassion one should learn what it means to really love someone. Not being timid to reveal someones conscience or even realizing that christians aren’t mean’t to be respected.

Naive compassion is when someone says, “if only the church was like what it was suppose to be, then people would get saved.” Jesus, walked on this earth for 33 years. He embodied everything the church was mean’t to be. Yet, people still rejected Him! It has has never been a perfection problem, but a WILL problem.

I noticed today that there are two Lazarus in the New Testament. The first one known as being acquainted with rich man and then other Lazarus who was the brother of Mary and Martha. Now the rich man and lazarus die. And it says that the rich man is tormented in Hades and Lazarus is comforted on Abraham’s bosom.

The rich man asks Abraham to send lazarus to bring him water. His request was denied, then the rich man demanded Abraham to send Lazarus, saying “if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent” (lk 16: 30).  Then in verse 31 Abraham says “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.”

G. Campbell Morgan says life is never affected by miracles, if it is not affected by the moral. Another words the speactaculous and miraculous will not have any effect upon the life of men if there is not moral change. What if Lazarus was sent back? Remember that Jesus raised Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus from the dead!? And what happened? They tried to kill him!

Look at Jesus, His entire public ministry there were people trying to kill Him. So it is naive to say that if ONLY we were like Jesus, people would repent. Even after Jesus rose from the dead they were trying to kill His followers!

Fall isn’t lingering around the corner anymore.

It is possible to lose Christ. Mary and Joseph were able to. Returning from the temple it was customary for the woman to travel with other women and the men to travel with the other men. So mary assumed that He was with Joseph and Joseph assumed He was with Mary.

The most unlikely people can loose Him. Let no missionary, pastor, or sunday school teacher say it can never happen! It can and it does happen, it happened to Mary. No one love Him more than Mary did… she laid Him in a manager and she lingered the longest by the cross.

Your devotion can render you immune from losing Him. Often, the good is the enemy of the best. The most excellent book may help you neglect you bible and tireless christian service may make it possible to exclude secret devotion.

It is possible to forfeit His Presence and not even know it. It is always good to “practice” the presence of the Lord. Talk to Him even when you have nothing in particular it say to Him. There is no greater mistake than to take the Presence of God for granted. Mary and Joseph did and it resulted in many hours of mental anguish He was missing for 4 days.

Jesus called Peter a rock, which upon this rock I will build My Church. Reading through the gospels we see that Peter was a man full of personality. Peter was man of intellect, emotion, and will. These three things make up for a great personality.

Geologist agree that rocks are formed out of a process. They are an exhibition of principle. When Jesus first asked Peter to follow Him, Peter lacked principle or foundation.

Peter asked more questions than any other disciple. His questions were ever full of significance. Questions are always a sign of intellect.

Peter was full of emotion. Many times he cried out in random burst of emotion. Peter “began to rebuke Him”, “And he went out, and wept bitterly,”

Peter was full of will power. When Jesus came and said follow Me, “they immediately left their nets and followed Him.”

Jesus saw something in Peter from the very beginning. He saw what he could become; Jesus made Peter into something he exactly was not. Jesus called Peter to a higher vocation, a fisher of men.