Walt Whitman, the great American poet of the 1800s said that “God is a mean-spirited, pugnacious bully bent on revenge against His children for failing to live up to his impossible standards.” That description is enough to scare away anyone from searching for the truth about God. What led to Whitman’s cruel perception of God might be found in his poetry, but it certainly is not what we see in the Bible.
In one of the greatest stories ever told Jesus Christ described God as a father who welcomed back a son who had mocked and ridiculed him, a son who had lost his fortune. Even with so much reason to forget this ungrateful boy, the father ran out to meet the prodigal when he returned home in total shame.
The reason we can call God “Father” is because of Jesus Christ. His life was about so much more than showing us how to love, it was about obtaining reconciliation. It was about bringing us back to God the Father.
The Bible is a big book which at times can be difficult to understand. But its bottom-line message is this, your Creator is waiting for you to fall into his open arms just like the wayward son in Jesus’ story fell into the arms of his forgiving father. What could be more beautifully powerful than to call the One who made you, “Father”?
Sunday Morning Worship – 10:00 am