At BCM, we just got back from our annual Fall Retreat. Here’s the devotional that I gave the students. Some of the questions at the end won’t make complete sense to you, but you can adjust them to fit your current situation.

The thought of God as Father brings mixed emotions among people. Some people have great relationships with their fathers and can easily see God as a good father. Others have not been so fortunate and might think, “If God is a father, then I want nothing to do with that.” The truth is, earthly fathers fail us, even the good ones make mistakes, and it can be difficult not to transfer our emotions about our earthly fathers onto our heavenly Father.

The Old Testament doesn’t mention God as father that much, but when Jesus came onto the scene, He began to break down perceptions of God as being angry, distant, and/or impersonal. Jesus refers to God as father over 150 times. When Jesus instructs people how to pray in what we know as “The Lord’s Prayer,” He begins with “Our Father in heaven …” (Matthew 6:9). God as father makes Him more accessible to us and makes us feel like we’re a part of Him.

He is also better than an earthly father. Jesus says in Matthew 5:48, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Our Father God is a perfect being. Jesus’ statement was made at the end of His instructions to love not only the people who love us, but those who don’t love us so well. Matthew 5:43-47 is about loving your enemies and wraps up with the command to be perfect as our heavenly father is perfect. This means that God loves us all, even when we are His enemies. His love is perfect.

This doesn’t mean that as God’s children that we will get everything that we want. Good fathers don’t give their children everything that that want, but they do aim to give their children what’s best. God knows infinitely more than we do, so it would make sense that His plans might be better than ours. Good fathers also discipline their children. God is going to allow you to be in situations that aren’t necessarily fun for you, but they will shape you and mold you into the person that He knows you can be. When you disobey Him, He’s going to correct you, not because He enjoys watching you hurt, but because he knows that the hurt will be worse down the road if you are not corrected.

As you work to see God as a good father, read Matthew 5:43-48 and all of Matthew 6. These are starting places to see that God cares for you and the world. If you are struggling to see God as good, pray to Him right now and tell Him that. He can handle our doubts and insecurities. Ask that He will show you more of who He is and make you open to Him as a good father. Pray for healing and restoration.

Consider also, that if God is our Father, we are brothers and sisters in His family. John 13:34-35 says, “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Not only is it a good thing for us as believers to love and care for each other, but it’s commanded. Not every Christian has to be our best friend, but it is expected as part of God’s family that we work out our differences and live in harmony. We are expected to go out of our way for each other. Love does the things that aren’t convenient to us.

Is there anyone on this retreat that you’re having a difficult time loving? Pray for that person and that you’ll be able to see him/her the way God sees him/her.

Are there people on this retreat that you don’t know very well? Get out of your comfort zone and try to get to know them better, even (or especially) if they don’t seem to have much in common with you. Sacrifice a little bit of time with your best friends to make new friends and to be a friend to someone else. Or, better yet, include new people into the activities that you and your best friends are already doing.

Need more verses about loving each other? Check out these:

1 John 2:9-11
1 Peter 2:17
1 Peter 3:8
1 Peter 4:8
Ephesians 4:32
Colossians 3:12-15