And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.” (Mark 14:36, NASB)
How is your relationship with God, our Father? The relationship between God, the Father and Jesus, His only begotten Son was an intimate one. I would opine that our relationship with God our Father is a relationship not so much to be evaluated but to be embraced and treasured. It is not so much how I fare on a scale of 1-10 but what uniquely defines this relationship. I could think of the following 3Ss that characterized our relationship with God, our Father: Serialised, Secure & Stable that make it truly remarkable.
1. This relationship is ‘serialised’
The Bible often speaks about ‘the God of our fathers’ or ‘the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’ implying this relationship has a genealogy. Each generation leaves a legacy of faith for the next. So, when I ponder on my relationship with God, our Father, I pray that my children and my children’s children will also come to acknowledge Him as their heavenly Father. Interestingly when Jesus taught His disciples (us included) to pray (Matthew 6:9-13), he began by saying, “Our Father…”. It was never ‘My Father’ as Christianity is about generations living in a covenanted community with God.
2. This relationship is secure
This relationship is made possible through Jesus Christ, redeemed by His precious blood. Christ’s loving sacrifice on the Cross for our sins is a full and perfect sacrifice, once and for all. In so doing, as mentioned in 1 Peter 2:10, we who ‘once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy”. God’s redeeming plan for humanity is consistently and evidently spread throughout the pages of the Bible, both in the Old and New testament (see also Hosea 2:23)
3. This relationship is stable
This relationship is stable because it rests on the faithfulness and eternal loving-kindness of God. In other words, it is a covenantal relationship. In 2 Timothy 2:13, we read, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” What joy and peace there is to know that we belong to Him forever!
In Christ,
Dr Ho Boon Tiong
LCEC Chairperson