Knowing the Father

Everything Jesus did was because of His direct relationship to the Father. In like manner, He wants us to have the Father’s wisdom and guidance in our thoughts, feelings, decisions, and actions.

God is a romantic at heart. The God who created you is the One who fashioned you to love the way you do. You didn’t develop friendship and romantic desires because you thought it may be something you would like. God gave you those emotions and desires. Everything about love came directly from God and is maintained in Him. Andrew Murray wrote concerning Jesus,

“His life of dependency on the Father was a life in the Father’s love”

— Murray, Andrew: Abiding in Christ. Bethany House Publishers, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2003.

God’s passionate love focuses much on family. Jesus often spoke of Him as a Father. All of the best that an earthly father could ever offer to his children originated in God—and so much more. From Scripture we understand that God’s nature and essence is love, and He wants us to experience that love. He wants us to know what His love is about—what it really is, what it looks like, and how to receive it. Everything we desire in terms of loving relationships is found in Him.

Love always has to have a target. God does not have love that just floats around in the air. He loves someone and YOU are that someone. His love is directed toward, and is sent to you, in Jesus.

The Father’s love is uncaused and unconditional. His love does not begin when you have fulfilled all of His expectations or have performed in some qualifying way. The Father’s love cannot be earned or reduced. It is steady and unchangeable. Psalm 139:14 says that you are awesomely and wonderfully made—YOU. You are God’s work—YOU. You are what he made and you are who he loves—YOU. The verse goes on to say that His works (you) are wonderful. God thinks what He made is wonderful!

Much of the hurts we face in terms of how we relate to ourselves, and to others, came from a poor understanding of a father. Many fathers throughout history have had a child that couldn’t relate to them. That problem began with Adam and affected all of humanity. Adam failed to demonstrate Father God’s love to his children, which continues until today. Instill the Father’s love into a family and everything changes. It is the missing ingredient for the success of a family. St. Augustine points us to the Word as the source for discovering God’s love, which is personified in Jesus.

“The whole of the Bible does nothing but tell of God’s love. This is the message that supports and explains all the other messages”

— Cantalamessa, Fr. Raniero: Life in the Lordship of Christ. Sheed and Ward, Kansas City, 1990

We believe that to participate well in any kind of relationship, a person must have an understanding of God’s Father-heart. It is in this capacity that the very essence of love itself is evident. One of the primary reasons Jesus came to earth was to introduce us to the Father and to connect us with His love.

If you'd like to read more about 'Knowing the Father', please check out the Cleansing Stream Seminar Workbook.

Have you ever been introduced to the Father’s love? Tell us about it.