God is not a father.

It's true. God is not a father. No where in the Bible does it say that He's a father.

Worried? You shouldn't be.


Because the Bible calls Him the Father ... as in THE Father. God is the original Father from whom all other fathers find some measure of rootedness in their identity as fathers. But God THE Father is not a father like your dad or mine. He is THE Father. Every other father there ever was only reflects who He is in very limited and inaccurate ways. And a lot of those fathers do it very poorly. Some of them abusively and destructively. And let's face it: some of them are just buffoons, which is only a step or two up in the food chain from baboons.


Which of course makes fathers an easy target for ridicule. Television and movies have had a field day making fun of fathers for generations. From Ralph Kramden to Fred Flintstone to Homer Simpson to ... well, you get the point. And subtley, its not hard to begin to think that THE Father is just like any other father, only beginning with a capital "F".

But the mix-up of fathers and THE Father doesn't stop there, does it? Others ascribe a 'maleness' to God THE Father that is really nothing more than the crippled and distorted 'maleness' of the fathers who populate our personal world. And as a result, there are folks who completely ridicule the idea of God as a father. Because if God is only like the fathers they see in life, then He's not much of a God.

Still, on the other hand, some of the fathers in this world are just plain wonderful. Like me for instance! ;-)!! I'm certain that my kids who read this blog think I am the world's greatest dad. Why, they've even given me a T-shirt that says I am! (That was meant to be sincere, right?!)


But some of the fathers of this world really are just awful. Real duds. And if God THE father was only a bigger version of one of those fathers, I don't blame some folks for what they conclude about the Fatherhood of God.


Well, the good new is that's not who THE Father is. He's not even like me ... as wonderful a father as I imagine myself to be. He is THE Father: perfectly loving and just and kind and good and merciful and fair and on and on it goes...perfection upon perfection.


(Ya know, if you're a permanent kid like me, given that THE Father is completely perfect in every way and never forgets anything, I'm kinda wondering: "where's my allowance?" But I digress.)


So ... given that God is THE Father and He really is perfect, that means I don't have to worry about the fatherhood issue and God after all. Because THE Father really is THE Father not simply a father.

And maybe this world would think a lot more of Him if we thought a lot more like Him.


...just thinkling