The Two Most Powerful Two Words in the Lord's Prayer - Our Father

 

Matthew 6:9 (NIV)

“Our Father in heaven…

When Jesus’s disciples asked him how to pray, he gave them what we know as the Lord’s Prayer. The most powerful part of this prayer resides in its first two words: “Our Father.” God, the creator of the universe, the sustainer of all life, could have chosen any title, any descriptor of His being. He could have chosen to be known as:  

1.      Sovereign: Emphasizing absolute rule and power.

2.      King of Kings: Highlighting dominion over all earthly rulers.

3.      Lord of Hosts: Signifying command over vast armies and celestial beings.

4.      Judge of All: Stressing ultimate authority and justice.

5.      The Almighty: Underscoring limitless power and might.

6.      Creator: Focusing on His role as the origin of all things. 

Yet, He chooses to be known as "Father," a term of intimacy and love and vigilance. Since God created both Adam and Eve in His image, this fatherly love encompasses the nurturing aspects of a mother's love as well. Consider the physical and emotional ordeal a mother endures during childbirth.  Contractions that create intense and repeated pain of bringing forth life. The strenuous effort of pushing and delivering the child.  The physical sacrifice of the mother's own life force  (I watched them cut open my youngest son’s mother to pull him from her stomach). The ongoing healing and adjustment after the birth and the sacrifice of self to care for the child. 

These is just not an analogy to God's immense sacrifice and love for all His children.  It is prophecy on earth of what He experiences in heaven for those who love Him.

As a father, I would do anything for my sons. If I had unlimited resources, I would provide them with every opportunity for growth and happiness.  I would protect them from all harm and suffering. I would give them a legacy that would bless them and their children and their grandchildren.

I would sacrifice anything, even my own life, to protect them. I would endure any hardship, bear any burden, even face eternal damnation to spare them from it. And I am evil.  I am broken.  And I have failed so much as a father, I am amazed that my boys still love me.

I am not special.  Every father and mother feels this same way.  This parental love is a universal human experience. The reason Jesus wants to go to God and call Him Father and not Lord or Master is because we our supposed to take our own love for our children, multiply it by a bazillion, and know it does even scratch the surface the love our Father, in Heaven, possesses for us.

 Matthew 7:11 (NIV)

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!