Frank Billman 6.21.20
On this Father’s Day we explore the nature and attributes of our heavenly father. Before we look at the scripture it is important to consider what may block us from truly seeing him and understanding his true nature. We can have roadblocks like our early church experience. Or perhaps our earthly father left an impression on us that colors our view of God’s nature. It’s even possible that our understanding of how the world works—our worldview—can impede our understanding of God. These need to be recognized and healed as we begin our journey to truly understanding our heavenly father. Perhaps the most compelling scripture comes from the Old Testament – Micah 6:6-8. In this passage Micah is reminding the Hebrew people that God is not nearly as interested in their sacrifices on the altar as He is in their changed heart and behavior toward others.
Micah ends these verses with the simple message of: act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. Quite an amazing contrast to everything the Hebrews had been taught since childhood. Our journey is often the same. We have to unlearn some “truths” that we learned on our path to adulthood in order to really grasp the nature of God. Concepts like grace, unconditional love, and forgiveness are difficult to grasp and internalize unless and until we remove the baggage that we carry from years of earthly training and experience. And so, we start the journey!
