Who is God? We can call Him Creator, the Originator of everything, the supreme being who controls everything, the terrifying Lord of the cosmos, etc. But those are titles and actions, who is He really? Is He unapproachable? Is He indifferent? The closest that I can get to express who He really is, is that He is Good, He is Love and He is Father.

Genesis speaks of how He crafted humanity by His own hands, while the rest of creation, was made by just His word. This shows His love for humanity. Genesis also says that we were made in God’s image and likeness. Just like children grow up to be in the image of their parents. But down the line we have overlooked this aspect of God, or even if we called Him Father, it is with respect to Him being Creator, and therefore called Father out of a sense of obligation…

Jesus turns this around by calling Him Father, in the proper sense – i.e. He is our lover, uninterested in our sin, desiring to surround Him with our presence. he knows our flaws, our weaknesses, and yet calls out to us come…, trust.., believe…

My/Our Father in Heaven, you be exalted in my/our lives. Your presence, surrounds us your children even as we recognise and make space for you in our lives. We thank you for your goodness, even when we are/were far away from you and do not/did not recognise you, yet you provided for us. Help us to imitate you and grow to image you in all sense for you are our Father. Do not bring us to the tests, but when in the middle of them, guide us to victory and holiness. Amen.