Introduction

As I have been reflecting on the disaster in America and it’s horrific after-effects, the questions come a-haunting – why did this happen? If God is such a loving God and Father, why bring this disaster on people? Of course, this question can be asked the world over. America has the advantage of broadcasting detailed images of its catastrophes to everyone else and that brings their problems to the forefront of our minds. The fact that they are so similar to us in culture and wealth and lifestyle makes their bad news seem closer to home, but the truth is that there are horrendous events and tragedies happening all over the world about which we can ask the same question – Why?

Today on Father’s Day we are meant to be remembering and showing gratitude to our fathers for being our father. My intention is to show that fatherhood is not something we look around for and use as a description of what God is like, but a father is what God actually is – even before he created the world. Ephesians 3:14-15 tells us that God is the Father after whom all families are named. All fatherhood since the beginning of creation come after God’s fatherhood and is a pale imitation. He is the origin of “fathers” – the origin of that species, but instead of each successive generation changing and developing into something better as some theories of evolution would have us believe happens in the world, each father is closer to or further away from what a father should be, and none ever attain to the perfection of God the Original Father.
What I want to do is show you what the original Father is like, what our response should be, and how that squares with all the terrible things that are happening in our world.