“Our Father.” Those are the first words of the heartfelt prayer, known as the Lord’s Prayer, that Jesus gave his followers. I may have prayed it more times than I can count. Yet, recently, those two words struck me differently.
I’d tended to envision God’s fatherhood in a more general way, embracing all humanity, as He does. But it has become increasingly clear to me that this means God is actually the real and only Father of each one of us individually. So when I pray, “Our Father,” I am talking to my one and only Father, who is always very tangibly with me.
What is the nature of this ever-present Father? Did material conditions institute God? Clearly not. The Bible identifies God as Spirit. Spirit never could have any dependence on materiality, and we must understand this (see John 4:24).
We could interview several billion of the earth’s inhabitants and ask them to explain what created us. On account of the conditioning of education and what the material senses tell us, many would inevitably say that matter alone began us and continues us. But Jesus has led us to consider things differently. To encourage his followers to see the glorious benefits of renouncing a physical sense of origin for a spiritual sense of self, Jesus said, “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:39).
Jesus proved continually that finding life in God brings healing and confidence. We can all do this very same thing today. In “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” Monitor founder Mary Baker Eddy explains, “In Science man is the offspring of Spirit. The beautiful, good, and pure constitute his ancestry. His origin is not, like that of mortals, in brute instinct, nor does he pass through material conditions prior to reaching intelligence. Spirit is his primitive and ultimate source of being; God is his Father, and Life is the law of his being” (p. 63).
When I was little, I sometimes lived with different families since my parents weren’t always able to care for me. During those times, when my dad would come visit, my heart would just sing! Then, as I began attending Christian Science Sunday School, I learned that, actually, God is the Father, not only of me, but of my dad, too. My goodness, this idea became so comforting, and it made me love God so very much. Truly, every day began to feel like a sort of Father’s Day.
The Bible celebrates God as Father, encouraging everyone to, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us” (I John 3:1). In prayer, it’s so heartening to behold the incredible manner in which our Father, without exception, is always present and loving every single one of us.
From whom do we as spiritual creations inherit all of our good traits and qualities? From our one and only Father! Each moment, in our oneness with our Father, divine Spirit, we are inheriting all that makes up God’s love and goodness. To be the offspring of Spirit means that, while we deeply appreciate everything that our earthly parents have done for us, our Father created us perfectly in eternal Life, God.
God’s fathering is so comforting and loving. Yet, it’s also powerful. Why? Because our only Father is truly the only presence. That means that our Father is the only power present.
As I discovered for myself when I was little, it is allowing knowledge of God’s fathering power to permeate our feelings and perspectives that transforms us. Under the goodness and care of our Father, including our Father’s supreme power, we can feel fear melt, finding confidence and healing in its place. With God as our Father, we truly know that all is well and feel profound peace because of it.
On this Father’s Day and every day, we can certainly express heartfelt love to our dad and appreciate all our parents have done for us. But let’s also gratefully consider what it means to us that God is our very intimate and loving Father. Realizing this is a deep joy. It is no wonder why Jesus encouraged, “Call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven” (Matthew 23:9).
