When Jesus was only twelve years old, he told his parents in the temple of Jerusalem that “I had to be in my Father’s House”(Luke 2:49), and throughout his ministry our Lord preached and taught that God is his Father as well as the Father of all people. Jesus is the only religious teacher who emphasized and revealed that we are God’s children and God is our Father in Heaven who loves and cares for human beings, sparrows of the air and the lilies of the field. In the story of the Prodigal Son, we can easily see God as a loving and forgiving Father who is intensively waiting for the return of all sinners at all times.

In John 3:16, it is revealed that our heavenly Father loved the world so much that his only son was given and allowed to die as the sacrificial lamb for the forgiveness of the entire world. In the short Lord’s Prayer, God is addressed and referred as “our Father who is in Heaven.” Once our Lord told the crowd around that him that he is one with the heavenly Father for which the Jewish leaders accused Jesus saying blasphemy and used it as one of the reasons to bring him for his trial and death. On the cross our Lord called God as his Father and asked for the forgiveness of his enemies as well as for all of mankind. When he was about to die, Jesus called God as Father and surrendered his spirit in his Father’s hand.

Once our Lord spoke about Jerusalem “How many times I wanted to put my arms around all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings” (Mathew 23:37, Luke 13:34) and in this statements God’s motherly love for people is revealed. In several sermons and teachings our Master taught and revealed to us that God is our Father who loves and cares for all people and he himself called his disciples and followers as friends and brothers.

“Jesus Christ, the son of God who became the Son of Man, paid a price for our sins and mistakes and promised the eternal life and citizenship in the kingdom of God. God’s love is unconditionally constant and intimate; it is more personal than we can ever imagine. In addition to eternal salvation, the Lord gave the believers the greatest gift of Holy Spirit who is pleased to dwell within us and help us in every aspect of our daily lives if we allow him. In the parable of Vine and its branches (John 15), the Lord is teaching us that the believers are one with him and he is urging us to live in him like the branches have the most intimate relationship with the main stem. In John’s gospel (Chapters 13-17) through Jesus Christ all believers have a great relationship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, the most blessed and Holy triune God.

In all the gospels and epistles of the New Testament we have many revelations and testimonies to share that our God is very personal to all believers. Of course in the Old Testament too there are several verses to show that our God is a very dear and loving Lord. When Apostle Thomas saw our risen savior for the first time he addressed him as, “My God and my Lord” which is an awesome expression of his heart’s realization that God is real and truly personal.

We the believers are blessed to have the most intimate and personal eternal relationship with our God through our living Master and the Holy Spirit. Let us all always be thankful to God, pray and praise Him at all times, and sincerely practice His loving presence in our lives. Amen