“Father is the Christian name for God.” – J. I. Packer

We all have an idealized picture of what a good family should be like. It’s where we are loved, accepted, corrected, and encouraged. It is where we’re secure and confident. While every earthly family falls short of that, there is a spiritual family designed to meet every one of those desires. Let’s look –

On the cross Jesus paid the debt we owed for our sins and he offers us forgiveness. That is an astounding gift. But it doesn’t stop there. The cross was the first step in God’s ultimate goal for us – that we be adopted into the family of God. It’s not a perfect family yet, but this family does have a perfect Father and we are his kids.

J. I. Packer in his book Knowing God teaches that having God as our Father means that, much as a good earthly father, he has authority over us, he has affection for us, and he provides for us.

Unlike earthly fathers, he is all-wise and all-sufficient. He will never steer us wrong and he will never run out of resources with which to help us.

Having God as our Father also means that we can approach him without fear and we have the honor of carrying his name. We are children of the King – forever. That should make us all smile – and relax!

Whatever our circumstances today, we know we have a Father who loves us, who will never leave us, and who will provide for us from his endless resources. It’s good to be adopted into God’s family!

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” – Galatians 4:4-5