Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Lord's Prayer: Our Father

Our Father who art in heaven, 
Hallowed be Thy name. 
Thy kingdom come. 
Thy will be done 
on earth, as it is in heaven. 
Give us this day our daily bread. 
And forgive us our debts, 
as we forgive our debtors. 
And lead us not into temptation, 
but deliver us from evil: 
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, 
       and the glory, for ever. Amen.  Matthew 6.9-13

Every day I pray the Lord's Prayer that Jesus taught us. It's one part of the spiritual disciplines that I follow. I've been doing this for a couple of years, and it still isn't old. Quite the opposite.

So, I thought I'd write about it - one bit at a time.

There's lots going on here. Think about it. Jesus could have told us to speak to God as 'Almighty One' or 'Sovereign Lord' or just as 'God'. And those are all fine ways to address God. But Jesus chose 'Father', and with good reason.

Think about adoption. A child is born into a family. But for whatever reasons, that family can't or won't care for that child. Another family comes along and takes that child into its home. But it's not as if this child is just a friend of one of the kids of the family who's enjoying a one night sleepover, or even an extended sleepover. No. When a child is adopted he is being accepted into this new family. Things change. He learns to enjoy family customs like how to celebrate Christmas. He shares in the good and bad times of the family. He takes the family name. He's now a Smith instead of what he was, a Jones. He has become a member of the family. And he gets to say 'Mom' and 'Dad'. And that's because these two really are his Mom and Dad. They have promised to provide for him, to care for him, to protect him and to guide him. He's a part of the family.

And that's what happens with someone who is a Christian. He's been adopted into the family, into God's family. (The only natural-born child of the family is Jesus.) And it's not just that his original family can't or won't care for him. His original family has a father who is incredibly evil and hates him. That's one part of what Jesus was saying when He told some men, 'You are of your father, the devil.' So, every Christian has been adopted - rescued! - from a terrible family. That would be good enough, but not for this God. A Christian has also been accepted as a full-fledged member of the family, not just a sleepover friend. So, he learns to enjoy family customs like how to celebrate Christmas. He shares the good and bad times of the family. He takes the family name. And he gets to call God, 'Father'. And that's because He really is his father. He has promised to provide for him, to care for him, to protect him and to guide him. He's a part of the family.

Every time he prays the Lord's Prayer, he is reminded that the God to whom he is talking is his father. Not some distant, detached deity (like too many human fathers). He's talking to someone who cares, someone who is near. And though it will take some time to really get all of this - 'God is really my father?!?' - he will. The Father will make sure of that.