We focused a
lot on the suffering of Christ this Easter. Indeed, He suffered greatly to save
us from our sins. His multi-faceted life, however, deserves a greater attention
than we give it:
“Of the
many magnificent purposes served in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus
Christ, one great aspect of that mission often goes uncelebrated. His followers
did not understand it fully at the time, and many in modern Christianity do not
grasp it now, but the Saviour Himself spoke of it repeatedly and emphatically.
“It is the
grand truth that in all that Jesus came to say and do, including and especially
in His atoning suffering and sacrifice, He was showing us who and what God, our
Eternal Father, is like, how completely devoted He is to His children in every
age and nation. In word and in deed Jesus was trying to reveal the make
personal to us the true nature of His Father, our Father in Heaven.” (Elder
Jeffrey R Holland, “The Grandeur of God”, CR October 2003).
The Saviour
showed us what the Father is like through His teachings, His example, and
through His very being. When Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father, Jesus
answered: “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:8,9). Consider how
one component of His Atonement, the resurrection, applies to this:
“Any who
dismiss the concept of an embodied God, dismiss both the mortal and the
resurrected Christ. If having a body is not only not needed but not desirable
by Deity, why did the Redeemer of mankind redeem His body, redeeming it from
the grasp of death and the grave, guaranteeing it would never again be
separated from His spirit in time or eternity?” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “The
Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent”, Ensign, November 2007)
This is
more important than we think. There have been so many misconceptions about the
nature of God, such as a belief that He is a spirit without ‘parts and passions’.
The resurrection of Christ disproves that.
The most
pious Orthodox Jews have never been able to ‘internalise’ God because of their
perception of Him. They could never call Him “Father” as Christians do. This is
because they have such profound reverence toward His holiness that they cannot
speak or write His name. Even the rabbis admit they do not have a clear
perception of who God really is. (Marshall D. Isaacson, “Children of the
Covenant”, p 30,123)
The Lord’s prayer
alone teaches us that God is a father, and not some mystic unfathomable spirit
floating in space. Consider the start of the prayer : ”Our Father, who art in
heaven…..(Matthew 6:9). And then the nature of that Father: “….your Father
knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him” (v 8). This is a God who
is first and foremost a Father, who cares for His children like any father
would do.
This was a
new concept to the Jewish population of Christ’s time. This was one of the
reasons why they rejected Him. The Saviour’s so called ‘blasphemous’
declaration of Himself as the Son of God was a nail in His coffin.
The Saviour
spoke of the Father incessantly throughout His ministry, among the Jews and the
Nephites. The references in the holy canon are too numerous to list.
We always
talk about the great suffering and sacrifice of Christ having been executed
because of the Saviour’s great love for us. And it is true, He certainly loved
us but the real reason He did it was to bring us to the Father. He did it for
Him, more than anybody.
Have there
ever been more loving words than these: “Here am I, send me! Father, thy will
be done, and the glory be thine forever” (Abraham 3:27; Moses 4:2). I think not.
The Church
brings us to Christ and Christ brings us to the Father. He is the final destination
in our spiritual evolvement: The Father who has created us, who has reared us,
who has loved us, who sent His Beloved Son to redeem us so He can have us in
His arms forever….
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