Epaggelia

In one sense, God is the Father of every human being, Hebrews 12:9, see where He is titled, “Father of spirits”. From the very beginning when He made Adam, He considered Himself a Father, see Luke 1:38.  God wanted Moses to know of His fatherhood over Israel as His firstborn son, Exodus 4:22. He also told King David that his son Solomon would know God as a Father, 2nd Samuel 7:14. David went on to write Psalm 103:13-14, describing God’s compassion as like a Father that understands the weaknesses of his children, and that all who do fear Him should know Him as a Father.  So we know God’s intention in creating humanity is that we will recognize His place as our Father in our life and enjoy His family-life. Most people in the world are ignorant of this fact, some people try to explore it, and even fewer investigate enough to experience it. God is the eternal and righteous ‘family-man’, and we can see it in Jesus who was prophesied to be called “Eternal father, Isaiah 9:6.  Why do some children grow detached and separated from their Dads and yet other siblings in the same family grow to love them dearer with each passing year? Every parent that ever had a large family, has recognized the reality of each child being unique and different, yet coming from the same parents.  Regardless of personal differences between our opinion of our earthly Dad, we all have the same Heavenly Father and we all grow closer to, or farther from, our eternal and perfect Father. Why? Jesus is the answer. The way we view Jesus does indeed affect our view of God as a Father. He told Philip, “He who has seen me has seen the Father, how can you say, show us the Father?” John 14:9.  Jesus was presenting Philip with a paradox. Since Jesus is God in the flesh, he in one sense is a father-figure for us as Isaiah prophesied, but he is also truly a bigger, older brother to every devoted disciple that ever followed him, read Hebrews 2:11-12. Jesus wants us to understand the difference between being a ‘church-family’ and ‘God’s family’, Eph. 3:14-15.         

Jesus calls people who want to follow him to trust him with their own family, and warns them that our physical families can change for the worse or better, depending on how they view Him, read Mt. 10:34‑39. Being worthy of Jesus is a task that affects our  physical family.  We must put Jesus before our family as more important because He will make our family strong to do what is right. Truly loving each other, is in fact loving God, Mt 25:34‑40.  How do we love our family?  The way we want to love them or the way God wants us to love them? How did Adam love his family? He didn’t love his wife very much when the serpent was talking to her, Gen. 3:6. He was ‘with her’, but yet he didn’t encourage her in what God wanted. Instead Adam sat silent and let Eve be duped, he failed his responsibility in pointing her to the truth. He may not have been able to force her to listen to the truth, but indeed he could have at least distracted her from the lie she was listening to. Why didn’t Adam remind Eve of the truth? How can husbands today do a better job than Adam? Jesus is the answer. Couples grow strong to do what is right and families grow tighter to enjoy unity when husbands and fathers learn the joy of sacrifice in serving their wives and children. Husbands can serve their wives by being a spiritual leader in their relationship and take the initiative in the ‘washing of water with the word’, Eph. 5:25-28. Jesus used the word of God to cleanse his disciples, John 15:1-4. Husbands and Fathers can help the Lord keep their wives and children clean by encouraging an appetite for the truth in the family. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled”, Mat. 5:6.  Does your family really want to do what is right? If not, then try to lead by example. Grow in wisdom and share with those you love most, the benefits of doing what is right. What are they? The difference between being in God’s family in Adam like the rest of the world, and being in God’s family in Christ like the church, is exactly this: The ability to do what is right. “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven”, Matthew 5:20. Where can we get that kind of righteousness? Only in Christ! Do not ignore God’s way of entering Christ and staying to grow in Him..