Corpus Christi Blog

Our Father

06-21-2020Weekly ReflectionJen Arnold, M.A. in Theology and Catechetics

Today is Father’s Day and, therefore, a good day to discuss God as our Father.

God the Father is the first person in the Divine Trinity as He is the omnipotent, ever-present Creator of the entire universe. Because of this greatness and grandeur, especially when juxtaposed to the humanity of God in Jesus, God the Father can sometimes seem distant or inaccessible. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Our heavenly Father loves each one of us so much and desires deeply for us to turn to Him in intimate relationship.

We can be certain of God’s love for us by virtue of the fact that He is, indeed, our Creator. Think about when you are personally in the role of creator. Do you garden, paint, knit, bake, cook, write, or play an instrument? When you do these things there is an intimacy between you and that which you are creating. There is a natural ebb and flow of the process and you are keenly aware of the nuances in a way that no one else could understand in the same way. There is a harmony present. You do not feel distant, cold, and removed from the things you create. You love them and you likely love them deeply or you would not bother to create them. This is how God the Father relates to His own creation, though in a much deeper and more meaningful way. He profoundly loves not just Creation as a whole, but each individual one of us, as humanity is the crown jewel of His Creation.

God told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” (Jer 1:5). In other words, He intimately knows each one of us before we were even a thought in our earthly parents’ minds. It can be both scary and comforting to be known by someone that well. On the one hand, our Father knows us so well that He knows the ugliest parts of us. He knows our sins and our shame which are typically the parts of ourselves we want to hide from everyone. On the other hand, knowing that He knows all those dark places and loves us despite them is quite arguably the most comforting thought in the world. There is nothing we can do that would cause our perfect heavenly Father to not love us. If we allow that fact to truly penetrate our hearts so that we can rest in the assurance of His eternal love, we can be more at ease in our relationship with Him.

Jesus tells us that our heavenly Father knows our every need (Matt 6:32). Indeed, He knows our every need often better than we understand our own needs. Think of an earthly father and child relationship (whether it be your own or another). There are times when the child wants something, but the father, in his wisdom knows that it is not in the best interest of the child and therefore refuses the child whatever it is. Or, perhaps a toddler or a teenager is distraught for a particular reason, but cannot articulate why. The father can provide insight, or he instinctually knows how to respond to his child lovingly and in a way that brings instant comfort. God has these same insights, to an even greater extent, into each of our lives. How often do we find ourselves unable to articulate or even to understand what it is that we need? These are the moments we should turn to God in prayer and allow Him to be a perfect Father to us. Likewise, when He denies us something which we think we need in the moment, we must trust that He has better insight and perspective on the matter and is only doing what is in the best interest of our eternal soul.

Most of those who are reading this reflection are adults. Perhaps you have raised, or are raising a family. Perhaps you have had a successful career. Maybe you set out to accomplish certain life goals and did very well achieving them. While all of these things are wonderful human achievements, they are not our own. When we explore ourselves in relation to God the Father, we are nothing but mere, little, helpless children. This sort of humility can be a hard pill to swallow. We would not have anything at all but for the grace of our heavenly Father. Therefore, “Jesus asks for childlike abandonment to the providence of our heavenly Father who takes care of his children’s smallest needs.” (CCCC #305). Whatever your state in life, consider yourself a small child at the feet of your Father, asking Him to anticipate and provide for your every need and to trust that He will do that for you. “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’…Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.” (CCCC #305, Mt. 6:31-33). Jesus again uses a child as an example when He drew a child close and said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 18:2-4). He is reiterating the fact that we must humbly submit ourselves to the will of our Father who knows what each of us needs, even better than we know ourselves. Doing so will only earn us a greater eternal reward in heaven.

As we celebrate all of the wonderful fathers in our lives today, we might consider carving some time out to prayerfully acknowledge our relationship with our heavenly Father, who loves us infinitely more than any earthly creature ever could. Is there an aspect of your life where you could become more childlike and surrender yourself more to your Father? Can you express gratitude for your Father doing what is best for you, even if it is painful or not what your own will wants? Can you explore ways to deepen your Father/child relationship with God? Finally, can you deepen your love for your Father just by virtue of the fact He is your Father? The more opportunities you can find to draw close to your Father, the more abundantly blessed you’ll become.

Happy Father’s Day!

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