On Father's Day I was thinking about God. I was thinking that by looking at fathers we understand certain aspects of God's nature.
I learn a lot from the metaphors in the Bible. God is like a shepherd in his caring for us. God is like a king in his sovereignty. Jesus is the Way.
But it occurs to me that we have it backwards: we look at fathers and think about how God is like them. In fact, however, it is fathers who have been fashioned in a way to be reflective of God.
It is understandable that we think of the metaphors backwards because of the chronological order of our learning. We experience fathers in our daily walk -- up close and personal -- before we mature in our relationship with God. Fathers have skin on them while God is invisible. Only later in life do we realize the real order of things.
God was first -- and He created fathers and shepherds and kings in his image. The metaphors in the Bible spring from God's stamp on his creation. He isn't like us; our world is like Him. He created the world with glimpses of himself throughout.
His essence is seen in the patterns of life... in shepherd's concern, in king's sovereignty, etc. Much like a writer cannot avoid self-disclosing in his prose and a painter tells something about himself in every piece of art. Our Creator's nature is woven throughout creation.
God isn't like a Father; He is the origin of fatherhood.
1 comment:
This reminds me of our conversation not too long ago about if my relationship with men was reflected in my love affair with God or if my relationship with God determined my expectations for relationships with men... Conclusion-- God was the first partner for humanity and our relationships with each other have the potential to reflect his romanticism. I like this father-take on the matter also!
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