God, The Father
Tim Melton
Matthew 6:9
''The small boy had been consistently late for dinner. One particular day his parents had warned him to be on time or there would be consequences, but he arrived later than ever. He found his parents already seated at the table, about to start eating. Quickly he sat at his place, then noticed what was set before him--a slice of bread and a glass of water. There was silence as he sat staring at his plate, crushed. Suddenly he saw his father's hand reach over, pick up the son's plate and set it before himself. Then his dad put his own full plate in front of his son proceeding to eat nothing more than the bread and water. Now some of you may argue that the boy needed to experience the consequences of his disobedience, but here was the result. When the boy became a man, he said, ''All my life I've known what God was like by what my father did that night.''
This story shows how much the example of our earthly father helps or hinders our understanding of our heavenly father. Before we look further at ''God as Father'' we must understand the culture of Jesus' day.
In Jesus' day most people believed that God was very distant and unknowable. Among the Greeks there were two dominant beliefs concerning the gods. One was held by those known as the Stoics. They believed that the gods did not have the ability to feel any emotion. This came from the idea that if the gods could feel emotion then they could be hurt, and surely the gods cannot be hurt so they must be emotionless, apathetic and indifferent.
The second dominant belief concerning the gods was held by a group known as the Epicureans. They believed that the gods were most characterized by perfect peace and tranquility. The Epicureans realized that the world was chaotic and often out of control. The gods would surely lose their tranquility and peace if they got involved in human affairs, so surely the gods must be distant, detached and uninvolved.
Even the Jews of ...
Tim Melton
Matthew 6:9
''The small boy had been consistently late for dinner. One particular day his parents had warned him to be on time or there would be consequences, but he arrived later than ever. He found his parents already seated at the table, about to start eating. Quickly he sat at his place, then noticed what was set before him--a slice of bread and a glass of water. There was silence as he sat staring at his plate, crushed. Suddenly he saw his father's hand reach over, pick up the son's plate and set it before himself. Then his dad put his own full plate in front of his son proceeding to eat nothing more than the bread and water. Now some of you may argue that the boy needed to experience the consequences of his disobedience, but here was the result. When the boy became a man, he said, ''All my life I've known what God was like by what my father did that night.''
This story shows how much the example of our earthly father helps or hinders our understanding of our heavenly father. Before we look further at ''God as Father'' we must understand the culture of Jesus' day.
In Jesus' day most people believed that God was very distant and unknowable. Among the Greeks there were two dominant beliefs concerning the gods. One was held by those known as the Stoics. They believed that the gods did not have the ability to feel any emotion. This came from the idea that if the gods could feel emotion then they could be hurt, and surely the gods cannot be hurt so they must be emotionless, apathetic and indifferent.
The second dominant belief concerning the gods was held by a group known as the Epicureans. They believed that the gods were most characterized by perfect peace and tranquility. The Epicureans realized that the world was chaotic and often out of control. The gods would surely lose their tranquility and peace if they got involved in human affairs, so surely the gods must be distant, detached and uninvolved.
Even the Jews of ...
There are 22863 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
