Quotes by Mary Kassian

The first and most obvious reason we call (God) “Father” is because that is what He wants to be called. The first person of the Trinity has many names – Almighty One, Creator, Most High, Holy Holy Holy, the Rock, the Great I Am. But when Jesus came to tear away the veil so we could look directly into the heart of God, He revealed God as “Father.” Jesus used the word “Father” more than any other description or name for God. And He taught us to address God in the same way: “Our Father who art in heaven…”  “Father” is God’s self-revealed designation.

It is astounding that God wants us to call Him “Father.” The implications are staggering. Having God as our Father means that He is a living, personal being, and not an impersonal force. It means we can get to know Him. It means we can talk to Him and interact with Him. It means we can relate to Him on a personal and even an intimate basis. I might not know how to relate to an Almighty One, a Most High, or the Great I Am, because I have not met anybody like that. I have no earthly frame of reference to do so. But relating to a father? That’s different.

“Father” is the most significant name of the God of the Bible. It is the name that sets Christianity apart from all the other religions of the world. Other religions invite us to worship their gods, allahs, creators, or metaphysical forces, but Christianity invites us to believe in a Son and to enter into an intimate family relationship with a loving Father. Jesus, the Son of God, came so that we could meet His Father, be adopted into the family of God, and relate to the almighty God of the universe in an intimate, personal, concrete way as sons and daughters (2 Cor. 6:16, 18).

God is Father, and He alone defines what true fatherhood means. How tragic and foolish and how very arrogant of us to shy away from this name because some human males are poor examples of fatherhood or because our culture regards a God named “Father” as oppressive and patriarchal.