Our Father Revealed
I remember one day that I was reading my Bible in the Gospel of John, as I sat outside on a balcony that looked out over Surfer’s Paradise, when the Lord asked me a question.
In my spirit, I heard these words, “Chloe, what was the most important thing that I did when I was the on the earth?”
My first thought was, “To die on the cross.”
Then in my spirit, I heard Him say, “The most important thing that I did when I was on the earth was to show people the heart of the Father.”
I sat there and pondered what that meant, and remembered reading in John 13-17, where frequently Jesus would make claims about His mission.
“If you have seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.”
“I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known…”
Everything Jesus did on the earth was to show us the Father’s heart towards us. Every healing miracle, every provision miracle, the way Jesus treated people, every deliverance, and of course, dying on the cross was all a demonstration of God’s heart towards humanity.
The way Jesus talked about God was so personal; you could tell by the way Jesus spoke that He knew God intimately and profoundly. The Pharisee's were furious with Jesus because of the way He talked about God, so much so that they wanted to kill Him. The Pharisee’s only knew rules, religion, punishment, sin and curse. They had no idea who God was even though they claimed to know God through their religious tradition.
Jesus eradicated religious tradition. Through His death and resurrection, He forever tore down the dividing wall that was between God and us, ensuring constant access to God’s throne of grace.
One of the first things Jesus says to Mary after having risen from the grave is this,
“Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”
Notice that Jesus didn’t just say that He was ascending to His Father, He said “My Father and YOUR FATHER!” He included us in His family. That for those of us who believe in Jesus, we now have the right to call ourselves children of God. This outcome has always been the heart of God, to call us His children and to treat us as such.
As children of God we have the right to God’s inheritance and in that inheritance is blessing, prosperity, healing, peace, freedom, deliverance and joy. The goodness that is His is now ours as well.
Jesus reveals God’s amazing love that He has towards us. There may be times when we don’t feel like a child of God, but know that God sent Jesus to the earth so that we could not only become aware of our Father’s heart but also experience His heart for ourselves.
“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God…”
So, on days when you may not feel like God’s child, remember that being a child of God is not a feeling; it is a truth that is in our hearts. Our adoption as His children is through faith not through how we feel that day.
As you go through this week, know whose child you are and abide in God's love for you.
