John Piper on the Fatherhood of God

The ancient notion of God as Father is one that is, variously, seen as offensive, outdated and irrelevant in our culture. Offensive to those whose view on gender is a 'Says Who?' affair, who consider the concept of fatherhood to be offensive. Outdated for those who say we no longer need a God like that. Irrelevant to those who, frankly, just don't care. Yet Jesus is clear that we have a heavenly Father, that he has a heavenly Father, and so we have to take the Fatherhood of God seriously.

One of my favourite authors and preachers is John Piper, some words of whom on prayer I quoted yesterday. In a little book called 'Let Us Pray: A symposium on prayer by leading preachers and theologians', Piper comments beautifully on the Lord's Prayer. I reproduce his comments on what the Fatherhood of God means, below;

"Here is the sum of the matter. Sooner or later life almost overwhelms you with pressures and problems - physical problems (give us our daily bread), relational and mental problems (forgive us our debts), moral problems (lead us not into temptation). And what I want you to see is this: You have a Father. He is a thousand times better as a Father than the best human father. His fatherhood means that He cares about every one of those problems, and He beckons you to talk to Him about them in prayer and to come to Him for help. He knows what you need (Matthew 6:32)"

I think that is true, and real, and beautiful.

You have a Father.

but in my earthly experience, Fathers (And mothers) let us down. 

Do things wrong. 

Hurt us.

He is a thousand times better as a Father than the best human father.

but what does that mean? 

How does this make a difference in my life?

His fatherhood means that He cares about every one of those problems, and He beckons you to talk to Him about them in prayer and to come to Him for help

The Fatherhood of God is one of the most powerful, central, beautiful truths of the Christian faith. It is something we access when we enter into a relationship with God, a relationship with Jesus Christ. I wonder what your experiences of fatherhood on this earth have been - I have some friends with terrible stories to tell. And yet. And yet. The Fatherhood of God is different. What would you say to him?

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