Fathers Love Letter

My Child,
You may not know me, but I know everything about you.(Psalm 139:1) I know when
you sit down and when you rise up.(Psalm 139:2) I am familiar with all your ways.
(Psalm 139:3)Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.(Matthew10:29-31)For
you were made in my image(Genesis 1:27) In me you live and move and have your
being.(Acts 17:28)For you are my offspring.(Acts 17:28) I knew you even before you
were conceived.(Jeremiah 1:4-5) I chose you when I planned creation.
(Ephesians 1:11-12) You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my
book.(Psalm 139:15-16) I determined the exact time of your birth and where you
would live.(Acts 17:26)You are fearfully and wonderfully made.(Psalm 139:14) I knit
you together in your mother's womb.(Psalm 139:13) And brought you forth on the
day you were born.(Psalm 71:6) I have been misrepresented by those who do not
know me(John 8:41-44) I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression
of love.(1 John 4:16)And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.(1.John 3:1)Simply
because you are my child and I am your Father.(1 John 3:1) I offer you more than
your earthly father ever could.(Matthew7:11) For I am the perfect father.
(Matthew 5:48) Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.
(James 1:17)For I am your provider and I meet all your needs(Matthew 6:31-33) My
plan for your future has always been filled with hope.(Jeremiah29:11)Because I love
you with an everlasting love.(Jeremiah 31:3) My thoughts toward you are countless
as the sand on the seashore.(Psalms 139:17-18) And I rejoice over you with singing.
(Zephaniah3:17)I will never stop doing good to you.(Jeremiah 32:40) For you are my
treasured possession(Exodus 19:5) I desire to you establish you with all my heart
and all my soul.(Jeremiah 33:3) And I want to show you great and marvelous things.
(Jeremiah 33:3)If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me.
(Deuteronomy 4:29) Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart.
(Psalm 37:4) For it is I who gave you those desires.(Philippians 2:13) I am able to do
more for you than you possibly imagine.(Ephesians 3:20) For I am your greatest
encourager(2 Thessalonians 2:16-17) I am also the father who comforts you in all
your troubles.(2 Corinthians 1:3-4) When you are brokenhearted, I am close to
you(Psalm 34:18)As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart.
(Isaiah 40:11)One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes.(Revelation 21:3-
4) And I will take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth.(Revelation 21:3-
4) I am your father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus.(John 17:23) For in
Jesus, my love for you is revealed.(John 17:26) He is the exact representation of my
being.(Hebrews 1:3) He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you.
(Romans 8:31) And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.(2 Corinthians 5:18-
19) Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.(2 Corinthians 5:18-19) His
death was the ultimate expression of my love for you.(1 John 4:10) I gave up
everything I loved that I might gain your love.(Romans 8:31-32) If you receive the
gift of my son Jesus, you receive me.(1 John 2:23) And nothing will ever separate
you from my love again.(Romans 8:38-39) Come home and I will throw the biggest
party heaven has ever seen.(Luke 15:7) I have always been father, and will always
be father.(Ephesians 3:14-15) My question is will you be my child?(John 1:12-13) I
am waiting for you.(Luke 15:11-32)
Love Your Dad
Almighty God

Each of us most certainly had a variety of fathers. There may have been good fathers, bad
fathers, absent fathers, cruel or loving fathers. However, if we are a child of God, we all have
a Heavenly Father Who is the same today as He has always been. For those who have had
good and loving earthly fathers, viewing God as our Heavenly Father won't be so difficult.
However, for those who have not had a loving and caring father, considering God as our
Heavenly Father will be more of a challenge.

God the Father far exceeds what any earthly father will be. His desire is for our earthly father
to reflect His qualities but even the best attempts will fall short. As we look and search
through God's Word, God desires for us to see Him as He is...not what we perceive. Let's look
at a few characteristics of Father God.

He is a creator. Our earthly fathers played a part in our creation, but even the source of their
contribution comes from Father God. "All things were made and came into existence through
Him and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being." (John 1:3
Amp.) God's name YHWH is declared within the Scriptures and the word created by the
ancient letters tell us that God is the one who makes what exists. He is the Creator....our
Creator.

God is love. It is His nature and character. Before anything else regarding the fatherhood of
God is revealed, we must establish that He is a God of love. Everything that He is and does is
based upon a pure and holy motivation of love. Love is what He is. He is not a God of fear or
anything else that would come under the classification of evil. "And we have known and
believed the love that God has for us. GOD IS LOVE, and he who abides in love abides in
God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16 NKVJ) Therefore, we can believe that and make ourselves
vulnerable to that love. The more that we do so, the more of His love we will experience.
Some of our earthly fathers may have made their love conditional. "I'll love you if..." However,
our Heavenly Father's love is unconditional. "God SO LOVED that He gave."

Earthly fathers are to play a part in forming our character and if we are obedient, we submit
to that training they give. Some fathers may follow through on the training and do well and
then there may be some who fall short in their guidance and instruction for lack of interest or
patience. Our Heavenly Father goes beyond what any earthly father will do. His forming of us
started with our creation. "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7
NKJV) The word form comes from the Hebrew word YATSAR and means to press and form
into shape as a potter does with clay. The participle form of this verb means potter. From our
birth to our death, Father God continues the molding and forming process and we become
the vessel He has specially designed as long as we continue being submitted to His
handiwork. "But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay and You our potter; And all
we are the work of Your hand." (Isaiah 64:8 NKJV)

www.disciplesofthemessiah.net

To become acquainted with our Heavenly Father should be a desire for each one of us. It is
the Father's heart for us to do so as He delights in a father/child relationship with each of us.
As we continue to look at a few other characteristics of the fatherhood of God, may it
increase the desire to spend more time with Him and to search out His Word so we can build
upon that relationship.

Our earthly fathers may attempt to keep track of where we go (particularly when we are older)
and assume we are where we say we are at, but they have to trust our word and promise that
we won't be somewhere else. In other words, there is a limitation to them being able to know
where we are every minute (unless they follow us everywhere). However, Father God knows
every second where we are at and He sees where we are at because He is everywhere
(omnipresent). He is not limited. It is absolutely impossible to hide from Him. "You know
when I sit down and when I stand up. You understand my thoughts from far away. You
observe my travels and my rest. You are aware of all my ways." (Psalm 139:2-3 HCSB)

Within the above verse, we see another characteristic of Father God. If our earthly fathers
come to know us well, they may have some ability to know to some degree how we think or
assume they know our thoughts (how we think). However, as we see (in Psalm 139:2) He
knows and even understands our thoughts. It even says He knows them afar off which means
He knows our thoughts even before we have a thought. Amazing! Even we don't know our
thoughts before we have them!

Our earthly father may be very intelligent and show much wisdom but that is not an ability
that comes from him but rather from Father God whose wisdom and intelligence is even
greater than all the wisdom of all the fathers put together. "Oh the depths of the riches both
of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways
past finding out!" (Romans 11:33 NKJV)

Just as His knowledge, wisdom, and judgments are past finding out, so are the limitless
aspects of His fatherhood. However, that should not prevent us from continuing to search for
them in order for them to be revealed to us. The object of God's game of "hide and seek" is
not to keep Himself hidden so we can't find Him but rather to find Him so we then can be safe
in His presence and enjoying that presence where as we abide we are changed.
The characteristics of Father God are deeply moving once one begins to peruse them in
their full scope.

This post today is in answer to readers questions regarding the characteristics or

fatherly traits of God. Some of Gods fatherly traits are like those of a good earthly
father; others, though similar, go far beyond an earthly fathers abilities. This lengthy list
of Gods fatherly attributes is in no way complete as He describes Himself, for the list
would probably be endless. Whether you have had mainly negative experiences with
your earthly father, which in turn made it difficult for you to interact with God as your
Father, or if you had positive paternal experiences as a child, these traits of Father God
will be very healing, emotional, and fulfilling to your mind and spirit.

Loving Continually, Abundantly

God says,

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children
of God! And that is what we are! 1 Jn. 3:1

I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. Jer.
31:3.

Just as a good earthly father, God delights in lavishing His love on us, pouring His love
into our lives in generous, plentiful, and even extravagant ways.

As your Heavenly Father, Gods love goes far beyond the capabilities of a human father
in that His love is everlasting, never-ending.
Compassionate, Comforting, and Loyal

God says,

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those
who fear him. Ps. 103:13

The Father of compassion and the God of all comfort2 Cor. 1:3

For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on those who are
afflicted. But Zion said, The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me. Can
a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has
borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget or forsake you! See, I have engraved
you on the palms of my hands. Is. 49:13-16

Just as a good earthly father feels compassionate toward his children-even the more
challenging ones-and responds to their needs in compassionate, comforting manners,
God says that He will be comforting and compassionate in His responses to His
children. God purposely makes a distinction between Himself and earthly parents,
admitting that some parents are not good and lack in the normal, paternal devotion;
hence, the result of abandoning their children. God says, referring to a mother as an
example (as mothers are typically considered by society to be even more devoted than
fathers), that even if our own earthly mother (or likewise, a father) would abandon us,
He will never abandon us. His loyalty and devotion cannot end, as sometimes happens
with earthly parents.

Nurturing

God says,

The LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until
you reached this place. Deut. 1:31

This is a beautiful visual illustration that God gives us, describing Himself as a father
who is literally carrying his son, caring for the sons every need when he is unable to
care for himself. Historically, it refers to God caring for the Israelites every need as He
brought them out of 400 years of slavery to a land of their own. But as Scripture tells us
that God is no respecter of persons-doesnt show favoritism (Acts 10:34)-and that all the
promises of God are yes for those who are in Him (in Christ, 2 Cor. 1:20), He cannot
show less care for us than what He has shown to someone else. We can rely on His
intimate nurturing of us, especially at times when we are unable to care for ourselves.

Warm, Affectionate, Familial

God says,

God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, Abba, Father.
Gal. 4:6

In this quote, God is describing how He causes His Spirit that lives within us to enable
us to cry out to Him as a father, with the sense of intimate closeness, warmth, affection,
and complete trust with which a very small child calls out to his parent. Abba, is
Aramaic and Arabic for Daddy. I could not think of a single term to categorize this
sentiment, and later discovered while researching the term, Abba, that it is impossible to
concisely describe in the English language. Eastons Bible Dictionary says of the term,
Abba, It is a term expressing warm affection and filial confidence. It has no perfect
equivalent in our language. ATS Dictionary describes the term this way, It expressed
the peculiar tenderness, familiarity, and confidence of the love between parent and
child. So we see that Gods Spirit works within us to create, between Father God and
us, the same natural bond of affection, trust, warmth, and closeness as exists with small
child and its parent. Once we become of aware of this fact, it should enable us to let
down our guard and allow Gods Spirit within us to further develop the intimate feelings
that are intended to exist between us and Father God.

Perfect for Us and to Us

God says,

As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all
who take refuge in him. Ps. 18:30

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Mt 5:48

God is a perfect Father. He is not capable of the failings of earthly fathers. The Greek
word for perfect, teleios, means, complete in mental and moral character (Strongs
Dictionary of NT Words). Not only are His thoughts and character perfect, but as Ps. 18
says, His ways are also perfect. In other words, God says that His interactions with us
are unflawed. This is vital for us to keep in mind. People blame God for so many bad
things that happen to them. Does a good parent purposely harm his child? Of course,
not. Any parent that does is considered to be mentally and morally corrupt. God informs
us that He is perfect; there is no flaw in His character or dealings with us.

Giving

God says,

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father, who does not
change like shifting shadows. Jms. 1:17

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how
much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Mt. 7:11

As with any good father, God delights in giving to His children, doing things for them that
bring joy and excitement to their hearts. God says that only good and perfect gifts
come from Him. This tells us 2 things: (1) God gives or does things that are considered
as gifts from Him to us. (2) He only gives good gifts, again rejecting the theory that evil
comes from Father God. In the second quote, God compares Himself to earthly parents
to again illustrate His superiority as a parent. We as good, earthly parents love to give
good gifts to our children. Even so, we each know that our character, even at its best, is
flawed. Since Gods character is flawless, how much more does His heart delight in
doing good to us and giving good things to us!

Protector

God says,

Ps 68:5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.
There are countless passages that describe Father God as our protector, such as the
ones that refer to Him as our Rock, our Shelter, a shield around us, etc. But this quote is
especially beautiful because God remarks that He is particularly concerned and
protective of those who are normally neglected by society. As this was written
approximately 2500 years ago, it was obviously during a period in earths history where
the job market was male dominated; neither were there the infrastructures for welfare
assistance that are available in financially stable countries now. For the most part,
orphans and widows back then were without a source of income and without hope. God
describes Himself as the Father/Protector of each person who looks to Him, and
particularly those whom society has let fall through the cracks.

Ever Available

God says,

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his
shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace. Is. 9:6

This quote is part of a prophecy of the birth of Jesus, put to writing about 700 years
before Jesus birth. Though it speaks of several fatherly traits, such as a counselor
(advice-giver) and Prince of Peace (bringing peace to those He is ruling over), I wanted
to focus on the term, Everlasting Father. This name of Father God describes His
availability. Good earthly fathers try to be involved in their childrens lives, though their
continual presence is not possible due to full-time jobs, other responsibilities, and a
limited physical life of usually, at the most, 60-80 years. God is our Everlasting Father.
He is always with us, always available for us, and will never die.

Disciplines Us for our Good

God says,

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not
disciplined by his father? Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best;
but God disciplines us for our good. Heb. 12:7,10
God does disciplines us to develop our spirits and character but He is careful to contrast
His discipline of us with that of an earthly father. Notice God says that an earthly father
disciplines us the best that he knows how, but He disciplines us for our good. His
knowledge of the situation and wisdom of how to deal with it are never lacking, so His
discipline does always bring about good in us, whereas an earthly fathers discipline
may be overbearing, not strict enough, or lacking in wisdom or effectiveness in some
other way.

Forgiving

God says,

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us
from all unrighteousness. 1 Jn. 1:9

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one
another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Col. 3:13

Unlike what many of us were taught as children, God describes Himself as faithful to
forgive. When we come to Him and confess our failings, He faithfully forgives us. Notice
in the second quote, it tells us to be patient with each other and forgive whatever
grievances we have against each other because that is the same way God responds
with His forgiveness towards us. The Greek for forgive, aphete, means to let go, leave
behind, dismiss, or cancel the debt (pg. 1430 FLSB). God is not unforgiving. He does
not hold on to bad attitudes toward us when we fail. Just as He tells us to do with each
other, when we ask for forgiveness, He lets it go, leaving the past in the past.

Conclusion

A Prayer for You

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you
the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. Eph. 1:17

I appreciate so much the Receive Healing readers bringing this area of interest to my
attention. I do pray that Gods Spirit has, as you read this, and will continue to give you
wisdom and revelation of the incredible beauty, intensity, and faithfulness of Gods
fatherly traits. May the greater knowledge of the characteristics of Father God bring a
level of healing, fullness, and completeness to your relationship with Him that you never
had before, enhancing your life in ways beyond what youve imagined!