Daddy-o part 2
It's interesting to me that when Jesus came to the earth to show us who God is He came as a beloved Son. And He showed us a loving heavenly Father. That's always struck me as important. Because God IS love. And, apparently, the best way for us to understand that love is in the form of that Father/Son relationship. I know there are other pictures of love--the Lamb and His wife, for example--but Jesus really endeavered to hit home this Father/Son relationship. In fact, that's why He gave us His Holy Spirit. So that we could experience that relationship. So that we could know and believe that God loves us. That DADDY loves us. And here's the key to the whole Daddy loves us revelation: Daddy doesn't love His kids because of what they do. Daddy loves His kids because of who THEY are, and who HE is. Look at Romans 8:15-16 (NLT), "So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father." For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children." Now remember, this adoption is not "you weren't in God's family, but now you are." This adoption is being PLACED as a Son. Being given responsibility in the family business. Which is what Jesus understood from a very early age. When He was "missing" and His parents found Him in the temple and they asked Him what in the world He was doing, Jesus said, "...How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" (Luke 2:49). Jesus knew who He was, knew who His Daddy was, and knew why He was here. And through the cross He gave us that same Spirit. That Holy Spirit that is our love receptor. That Holy Spirit that equips and empowers us to live an abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life by letting Jesus live HIS life in and through and as us! The Holy Spirit does not make us fearful slaves, trying to earn love and acceptance from a distant, angry taskmaster. The Holy Spirit joins with our spirit--the deep calls out to the deep--and affirms our true identity as the beloved Son of God! The Holy Spirit leads and guides us into all truth--that the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hands--by testifying of Jesus. By revealing Jesus to us and in us and through us. The Holy Spirit shows us who we really are by showing us who God--who Jesus, who LOVE--really is. And when we can see God clearly that's when we can call Him, "Abba, Father." That's when we can stop running FROM Him and start running TO Him. We can stop being afraid of His "wrath," or "punishment" and we can start to enjoy the gift that He has given us. We can relate to Him the way He relates to us; A Father loving (and affirming, and empowering) His Son and a Son living out of that unconditional love! That's the building block--the chief cornerstone--that everything else in this "Christian life" is built on. Daddy loves you!