Experiencing the Holy God as Father
Series: Holy – Holy – Holy | Bible text: Psalm 103:1–2; 8–18
The holy God is fathered by the people who make a covenant with him. A child of God lives in complete security, benefits from the compassionate wrath of God and is given an ultimate home. These experiences and grasping this truth in the depth of the heart changes us for the rest of life.
In action films, actors are often portrayed one-dimensionally as heroes or villains like cartoon characters. Since we can’t relate to them personally, we don’t mind if they are blown away. For many people, the same thing happens with God, He remains one-dimensional for them. For some, God is an energy, for others a benevolent grandfather, a stern judge, a loving friend or a sovereign king. And so we have a cartoon God with whom we cannot establish a personal relationship.
The Bible teaches us that God is complex. He is father, friend, judge, king. We will then grow as Christians when we hold together, understand and respond to the different ways God loves us.
God is Father
We find something of this complexity in the Prayer of Our Father, where it says: «Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name». The holiness of God and his fatherhood are mentioned in the same sentence. These mutually enriching and amazing natures with their consequences are described by King David in Psalm 103.
Complete security
«As a father has mercy on his children, so the Lord has mercy on all who fear him. For he knows that we are perishable, he remembers that we are but dust» (Psalm 103:13,14 NLB).
The Hebrew word used here with mercy is a deeply emotional word. It means visceral (med.: concerning the intestines). Two passages from the Old Testament show that this kind of love is usually used for mothers. The holy God makes a very bold comparison: «Can a mother forget her baby? Does she not feel for the child she has given birth to? Even if she forgets, I will not forget you!»(Isaiah 49:15 NLB). God has an overwhelmingly visceral love, stronger even than the feelings a mother feels for her child when breastfeeding.
In another comparison, it happens that a mother smothers her child at night. In her distress, she steals the infant from another mother and claims that the child belongs to her. Judge Solomon is asked to resolve the conflict and suggests: Divide the child and give each mother a half. «Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king – for her motherly heart was aflame with love for her son – and said: Ah, my lord, give her the child alive and do not kill it!»(1 Kings 3:26 LUT). This woman commits a capital crime out of an incredible, overwhelming, emotional, visceral milquetoast love. She lies before the king and thus breaks the perjury. This mother is willing to lay down her life for her child. God’s fatherly love is of this calibre.
At first glance, one thinks that this deeply emotional love of God in v.13 is justified by the fact that people fear Him. This is a misunderstanding, because there is a Hebrew parallelism here. The same content is repeated with different words. Being God’s child and fearing Him are the same thing. No, God loves his children because they are perishable and dust. Dust is a parable for falling apart. The heavenly Father loves because someone is broken, flawed and weak. As a child of God, one can feel absolutely secure in this indissoluble emotional commitment.
Compassionate anger
«Merciful and gracious is the LORD, patient and full of great mercy. He will not reproach us forever or be angry forever. He does not punish us for our sins and does not treat us as we deserve to be treated.» (Psalm 103:8–10 NLB).
There are two kinds of parents who destroy children’s lives: permissive parents and abusive parents. The all-allowing parents do not set standards, are non-confrontational and never get angry. Actually, one should speak of neglectful parents who are not committed to their children. Abusive parents often become angry and repay the children for their misbehaviour. You humiliate me, I humiliate you. You hurt my feelings, I hurt yours. Such parents let the children feel their misbehaviour clearly. Last week SRF broadcast a DOK programme about a Christian boarding school. Some former pupils reported that they were abused and their misbehaviour was punished with beatings. With both kinds of parents, children do not know who they are and whether they are loved.
The heavenly Father becomes angry, but it is not a retributive vengeful anger, but an anger driven by compassion. He is slow and always in control. The compassion and mercy of God are eternal, but anger is temporary. Because visceral compassion drives anger, it is intentional and purposeful. If God were not angry at how we destroy ourselves, he would not be good and would not love us. Anger is not the opposite of love, hate is. And the ultimate form of hate is indifference. God’s anger is always completely under control because God is selfless. Through His wrath He wants to lead us back to life. He is our Father, our wise guide for our lives. In dark moments, we sometimes wonder if God is just paying us back for something we did wrong. No, He never does. But maybe He wants to put us on the right path.
The heavenly Father is only a benevolent «pauper», no he is – as I said – the very Other, the Holy One. That his wrath is for us we also see here: «Oh, how could I give you up […]? My heart breaks at the very thought of it, and I feel the deepest pity for you. I will not give in to my fierce anger. I do not want to destroy Israel again, for I am God and not man. I am the Holy One who dwells in the midst of you, and I will not fall upon you full of wrath» (Hosea 11:8–9 NLB).
Ultimate home
«Man – like grass are his days, like the flower of the field, so he blossoms. For if a wind passes over it, it is no more, and their place no longer knows them. But the grace of the Lord wäFrom eternity to eternity üThose who haveürighteousness to their children’s children, for those who keep his covenant, who remember his precepts to do them.»(Psalm 103:15–18 ELB).
Foreign-born Americans are said to spend $10 trillion a year to go back to where they came from. It is also so important for adopted children to find their parents. There is hardly a worse nightmare than that the place of growing up no longer remembers us. We are losing our roots. Home is the place that suits us. So many people in this day and age are cut off from their homes. «For if a wind passes over it, it is no more, and its place knows it no more»(v.16) describes a nightmare. We need a home, a place that knows us. The substitute for not remembering is: «But the grace of the LORD endureth for ever and ever upon them that fear him.». The love of the Lord is the ultimate home, the place where the fire never goes out. Jesus said: «There are many dwellings in my Father’s house, and I go ahead to prepare a place for you»(John 14:2 NLB). The ultimate home that our heart longs for is in the Father’s house.
Our response to this
It is important to realise that we are not automatically God’s children. A covenant must be made (v.18). There is an outside and an inside of this covenant. Jesus himself tells us how to enter into this relationship with God: «But to all those who received him and believed in his name, he gave the right to become God’s children.»(John 1:12 NLB).
Jesus had no home in this world. «Foxes have their den and birds have their nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lie down in»(Matthew 8:20 NLB). Jesus always addressed God as Father, My Father or Abba, only once did he use a different address. Dying on the cross, he cried out: «My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?»(Matthew 27:46 NLB). What happened? Jesus paid the debt for our sins, for our being outside the covenant. On the cross He lost the spirit of His filiation so that we can have it. His place knew Him no more, that we might have a place. The door to His ultimate home was closed so that the door might be open for us. Jesus suffered outside the gates of Jerusalem (Hebrews 13:12) so that we can have a future in the heavenly Jerusalem – a picture of the ultimate home in the Father’s house.
David tells us the secret that changes us for the rest of our lives: «Praise the LORD, O my soul, and all that I am, his holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and do not forget all the good he does for you.»(Psalm 103:1–2 NLB). This is a call to self. It is imperative that we grasp these truths. Marvel, think, praise, meditate and celebrate the Father’s love in your heart. All our problems come from the fact that our soul does not know that we are or can be a child of God.
When this truth has sunk deep into our hearts, we become free from seeking approval, validation and lack of self-worth. Likewise, the heavenly Father frees you from bitterness towards your parents or too much dependence on them. Because Heavenly Father knows what we need and is the owner of all the wealth, He frees us from all money worries. We no longer have to work like crazy for our dream house.
As a father, the holy God, King and Judge connects viscerally emotionally with his children. Does your soul know this truth?
Possible questions for the small group
Bible text reading: Psalm 103
- How do you bring the two terms holy and Father together?
- What is visceral love? Do you line this up with your idea of God?
- What is compassionate anger? What might it feel like for us? What is it good for?
- In the Father’s house you find an ultimate home. How do you imagine this home prepared by Jesus?
- Do you think that grasping God’s love for the Father will turn your life upside down? How can this happen even more deeply?
