Understanding the Father

This morning I am reflecting on one of the last verses from John's first letter - 1 John 5:20 NIV: "We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life."

I like the way John lays out this simple truth - Jesus came to show us the Father, to give us understanding about Him and to represent Him, so that we could know Him.  There are many reasons Jesus came, but I believe the over-riding reason was to show us what the Father is really like.

All of Jesus ministry flows out of the Father's heart! (John 8:28)

When we see Jesus, we are seeing the Father! (Jesus said this very thing in John 14:9)

The forgiveness of sins, salvation through faith, the gospel of grace, are all from the Father, all originate in His heart.

The healings, miracles, signs and wonders, the mercy towards sinners, the compassion for the downtrodden, poor, and outcasts all reflect the heart of the Father.

Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth and the life" (John 14:6) and this was true of Him because it is true in and of the Father.

John reaffirms this here, for the Father is the one who is true.  And we are in Him, if we are in His son Jesus - the only way to be in the Father.  And He is eternal life.  Thus if we are in Jesus, we have found the way to the Father, who is truth and who is eternal life.

I know it seems a bit like circular logic, but in reality it just all points back to the Father.  This is what Jesus came to do, to give us understanding about the Father that we might know Him truly for who He is!  It is through relationship with Jesus that we then are able to encounter the Father for ourselves, no longer just taking what we have heard as fact, but actually experiencing this for ourselves!  The Father wants relationship with us, as crazy as that sounds!  Jesus is our proof that this is true.  In every encounter Jesus has we can see the heart of the Father revealed towards us.  We are all his sons and daughters, deeply loved and what is true for any of our brothers or sisters in this heavenly family, is true for us as well.  Although we are each unique, God's love for us is the same.  He shows no favoritism (Rom 2:11).  He desires each and everyone of us to have relationship with Him, regardless of our sin, our ideas, our past, our pain, our weakness, our failures.  He loves us in spite of all of this!

Oh, that we might know the depths of God's love for us! I pray that we might truly understand His heart for each of us!

Amen!