Psalm 103:13
“As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him;”
John 16:9
“For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me [Jesus], and have believed that I came forth from God.”
God is our Father in two senses – Creator (Acts 17:28 describes this connection) and Redeemer (Rom. 8:14-16 describes the adoptive conditions under which we may call Him Father).
As with all of His attributes, there is no way that all the aspects of God’s fatherhood can be addressed here, so today’s thoughts will focus on the definition/wonderment of three words from the above verses:
Pities – to have compassion, the desire to meet the needs of another
LORD – YHWH or Yahweh, The One Who Is
Loves – phileo – to like, the affectionate friendship kind of love
It is an amazing thing that YHWH – whose name we can’t even fully grasp – in all of His splendor and eternality has said that we can know Him as Father. He looks on us with compassion, and meets our needs. He feels affection for us; He likes us. As He told Israel in Isaiah 46:3-4, He carries us from conception to old age. “Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1)
1. Pray for each person pictured to have the opportunity to be adopted into God’s family, that each one may know him as Father.
2. Jesus said that the Father seeks worshipers who will worship Him in spirit and truth. Pray for the Father to find many such believers in Banja.
3. Pray for someone at the Banja Monastery to understand and rest in the Biblical truth that the Father bestows His affection on those who simply believe and like His Son; His love cannot be earned, but is a gracious gift.
