On Friday, I remember that God is my Father.

“¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is^(A) in Christ, he is^(B) a new creation.^[a](C) The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

This may seem to be an odd verse regarding God as Father. Here’s the connection:

1. God begins by making us new in Christ

2. God continues by purging us

3. God ends with our perfection

One way or another, all sinners need a rebirth. That’s how we become “in Christ”, a new creation. Some of us vividly know when and how that happened. Others do not, but certainly know that they call Christ their Lord and it doesn’t really matter how or when that happened. Meanwhile, we all remain sinners. God has work to do in us. But as our Father, he is doing his work with great care and love. We all have our old self lingering. We want things from God. We don’t want God to even be part of some areas of our life. We worry, fret, get depressed, discouraged—all because our lives are hard and often fail our desires and wants. God knows all of this. But his vision for us is perfect contentment. That love that Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13. He wants us to be content with just him, and not his blessings. So, as a loving Father with this vision for us in mind, he may withhold blessings from us. They may be getting in the way. As long as you always stand beside a toddler holding him up, he’ll not try to walk on his own. As long as the blessings are there, we may not learn to love our Father for who he is.

Consider basking in the love of your Father in heaven today—regardless of your circumstances.

--Charlie