“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may prove yourselves to be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:44-45; all Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible).

Jesus mentioned the Father 17 times during the Sermon on the Mount. Fifteen times He called Him “your Father” (twice as “your heavenly Father”). Once, during the Lord’s Prayer, He called Him “Our Father.” Only once did He call Him “My Father”; that is in Matthew 7:21 when He distinguished between those who do the will of His Father and those who do not. The second group cannot honestly call God “our Father” or “my Father.”

Jesus taught that those who do His Father’s will are His family members and, thus, can call God their Father with the same certainty that Jesus did.

“But Jesus replied to the one who was telling Him and said, ‘Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?’ And extending His hand toward His disciples, He said, ‘Behold: My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother’” (Matthew 12:48-50).

Jesus called His disciples His brothers. He still calls those who believe in and follow Him his brothers and sisters. This honor of kinship with God comes with great privilege, particularly the assurance of everlasting life. However, it also comes with great responsibility. Jesus calls His disciples to live like Him and obey His commandments, so that others may see God’s character through our lives.

“By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;but whoever follows His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says that he remains in Him ought, himself also, walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:3-6).

He is our Father as our Creator and through adoption and regeneration. That first role—Creator—is the only one that all of humanity shares. Only disciples of Jesus Christ can fully call God their Father. Paul frequently speaks of Christians as adopted children of God: “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15). However, through regeneration or rebirth, we have the Holy Spirit within us and bear a direct connection with our heavenly Father. We become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

As such, we should resemble Him and imitate Him. This includes forgiving others as He does (Matthew 5:45), being holy, and so on. A habitual lifestyle of bearing grudges and harboring resentment does not reflect the presence of the Holy Spirit in one’s life.

Our Father is passionately concerned about all that matters to us. He longs to raise us to reflect His glory and draw other people whom He created into our spiritual family. Let us seek to be like Him, loving and forgiving others as He loves and forgives us.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us new life, forgiving our sins through Your Son Jesus Christ, and adopting us as Your children. Forgive us for those times that we live below our spiritual heritage and privilege. Fill us anew and guide us by Your Holy Spirit so that we can live like Your Son Jesus Christ, sharing the grace You have given to us with others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

How has God shown you His love and mercy and confirmed that you are His son or daughter? What does this truth mean to you? Share your thoughts in the comments area below.

Copyright © 2023 Michael E. Lynch. All rights reserved.