Publisher's Synopsis
Of all of the names God could have used to identify Himself to us as, the name Father is most informative. While He certainly has other names such as Creator and Lord comes quickly to mind, He has chosen to allow us to think of Him and look at Him as "our" Father. First and foremost it makes me think about the nature of the relationship that He is after and that He is making available to us. This makes Him closer and more available than most of us consider Him to be. He could have called Himself Chairman of the Board, President of the Universe, CEO, CFO, Boss, Dictator, Most Reverend One, Pope, and the list is endless. But these kinds of names separate or put distance between those under to the one over. While He is over us, His emphasis is not about distancing Himself from us. Rather He has chosen to help us see that He desires to connect with us and that this connection is always for our good and will always be to our benefit. In fact, the connection between a father and a son or a daughter can never be broken! Consider this; my earthly father's name was Herb. He has passed away now but he is forever my father. If I had run away from home he is still my father. There is nothing I can do or say that takes away the fact that Herb is and was my father. I have worked for several Presidents at different companies. Not one of them is currently my president. I no longer work for any of them therefore that relationship no longer exists. Even after I die Herb is still my father (in fact I have confidence that we will be reunited in heaven.) Likewise no matter what we have done in this life God is still our Father. No one and nothing can separate us from His love. Now we can reject that love, and we can reject Him as our Father. But doing so only cuts off some of the benefits that He has intended to bestow upon us. But the fact remains He is still our Father. The more we learn of our heavenly Father the more wonderful we find He is. In the Bible He has planned to reveal Himself to us in many ways using many different kinds of people down through the ages to do so. We have learned He cares for the poor and the rich. He cares for the privileged and the under-privileged. Yet there is much confusion over His role in our lives.
