God, the Father - 6 July 2023

My 5-year-old grandson calls his father “Dadda”. He uses this name when he wants something, needs help, stubbed his toe, wants to ask something or simply out of love. In every language there is a name for this person who you form a close bond with. For many of us, this name can have positive connotations – love, trust, peace, comfort, provider, etc. Unfortunately, this is not the case for everyone. In many cases, it is associated with a negative word.

As Christians, we confess that we believe in God the Father. It is important to realise that our Father is immutable: “I am the LORD, and I do not change.” (Malachi 3:6) We must know who God is.

Our verse for today testifies that God is not an absent Father. He is always with us. We cannot judge God according to earthly fathers – present or not. He is always there and gives us peace.

He is also the Provider. In this conversation with Moses, the Lord says: “I will do just as you have asked …”(Exodus 33:17) Isn’t it wonderful? We can ask our Father for what we hope he will provide and he knows what we need. He is providing for us at this moment.

The Lord also says why he will provide for Moses: “I am pleased with you.” I can hear you say, “Yes, but it is Moses. At least he was a great leader and a man of God”. Let us go back to Exodus 32, to the story of the golden calf and read what his followers did. They made a golden calf to worship. They completely forgot about God. Yet, the Father tells Moses that he has found favour in his eyes. The world we live in is also a mess, but God says that we, his children, still find favour in the sight of God.

There is, furthermore, the assurance that God is interested in Moses and in each one of us: “I know you by name.” (Exodus 33:17, NIV) As a child, I spent hours looking at the lists of names in the telephone book to see how many people with my surname appeared on the lists of various towns. Our Father does not need a telephone book. God knows your name and he even knows how many hairs are on your head. (Luke 12:6-7)

I believe in God the Father – a present Father who brings peace and comfort, a Provider in whose eyes I have found favour and a Father who knows me by name.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for knowing me. Help me to get to know you better, day after day. Ame