FOR THE FATHER

 

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….

 - CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: The Trial of Jesus by Mindi Oaten)

TO RETURN

 

I visited my favourite parable yesterday, the Parable of the Prodigal Son, and I noticed something that took my breath away…..(Luke 15:11-32)

As you know, this was a story of an unsatisfied son who grew weary of his family’s duties and his father’s wholesome discipline and influence. He yearned for freedom from home ties and demanded his inheritance be given him to make his own way in life. He went into a far country where he spent that inheritance in riotous living and unrestrained indulgence. When the inheritance was spent, he was reduced to the lowest and most degrading form of service to a Jew, that of herding swine. He sank even lower to eat husks with the pigs. Imagine such degradation and suffering as eating and sleeping with pigs, especially with one of an honorable parentage who was raised with servants and ate the best of food and never had to worry about his sustenance. His suffering was extreme as he could see no favourable end to his situation. He could sink no lower. He reflected on the home of his youth and the security and safety he had there and how well provided even the servants were in his home. And then the hope! He would go home to his father!!! The father who loved him and was so reluctant to see him go. He would go home to the father who would surely forgive him and allow him to serve him. He would go home to the father who would lift him out of the misery he had fallen into. What exquisite hope his father was to him! How that hope would have lifted him out of the mire he was in and propelled him to return home!

We were somewhat like the prodigals when we left our heavenly home. We knew of the risk that some of us may never return. What hope our Father was to us by sacrificing His Beloved Son to ensure our return! We were sure the Plan would work and the Saviour would implement that Plan without hesitance and restraint. He would save us so that we could in our lowest earthly moments say, I’ll go home to the Father! I can rise above the mire of this telestial world and return to the splendor of my home. I can have better than what I have sunk to. I don’t have to wallow in the mire and eat husks…..I can have so much better. My Father will see my contrition and forgive me. My Father will welcome me home…..

I wish to gift you my heart

Eternal Father of mine;

I wish to glorify Thy name

Through endless moments of time.

I wish to worship you each day that I greet,

I wish to honour you with each breath that I breathe.

Then one day soon when I kneel at your throne

And bring you my deeds from my earthly home;

Accept them with mercy,

Consider them bliss,

And greet me joyfully

With an holy kiss.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: He Lifts Me Up by Danny Hahlbohm)

THE LORD'S PRAYER

 

“Our Father who art in heaven. God is our Father, the father of our spirits, we are his children, his offspring, literally. We lived in his presence, dwelt in his courts, and have seen his face. We were as well acquainted with him then as we are with our mortal fathers now. He is a holy man, has a body of flesh and bones, and dwells in a heavenly abode. When we approach his throne in prayer, we think not only that he is the Almighty, by whose word the earth, the sidereal heavens, and the universe came into being, but that he is a gracious and loving Father whose chief interest and concern is his family, and that he wants all his children to love and serve him and to become like him. Perfect prayer manifests our personal relationship to him who hears and answers the petitions of the faithful. 

 

Hallowed be thy name. ‘We approach thee in awe – reverentially – in the spirit of worship and thanksgiving, and we praise thy holy name. Thou art glorious beyond anything we can envision; all that is good we ascribe unto thee, and we desire to consecrate our life and being unto thee, for thou hast made us, and we are thine’.”

(Bruce R McConkie, The Mortal Messiah Book 2, p 148-9)

 

You see me Father, 

Despite heaven’s vast expanse,

You hear the burning beat of my heart

Amidst the numberless host of heaven.

You cherish me, 

More than the stars that encircle Thy throne;

Thy greatness is endless,

Thy power sublime.

In my appointed hour,

Carry me home

In the strength of Thy loving arms.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: The Lord's Prayer by Liz Lemon Swindle)