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“5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Hebrews 12:5-6. In Matthew chapter 6, we see Jesus teaching his disciples how to pray as they had asked Him. If I was to mention, one beautiful and most joyful thing about this prayer is how it starts “Our Father…”. Jesus’ life manifested the deep personal relationship He had with God the Father that the only name He used to address God in his prayers is “Father” except once; when He was on the cross full of pain, being mocked, when The One who knew no sin became sin on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21). That’s when He cried “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me.” (Matthew 27:46). Maybe for once in His life on earth Jesus did not call God “Father,” so that you and I who were children of wrath through Him we could be called children of God and call God, “Father” for eternity. After knowing their identity in the Father, Christians are then called to honor Him and His son and be led by His Spirit throughout their entire life. The Father commands us to listen to The Son (Mathew 17:5). Sometimes we tend to listen to all the voices around us except of The Son (let us take a step back and listen to Jesus). However, we cannot do this by ourselves unless we have the Holy Spirit; our advocate, intercessor, comforter, teacher, helper… Through Him we receive power; “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you…” (Acts 1:8).
"one beautiful and most joyful thing about this prayer is how it starts “Our Father...”"
Moreover, when we walk through Him, we no longer gratify the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16) and we live according to the will of the Father and Son. As said in Hebrews 9:14 “14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” As we read above in Hebrews, The Father disciplines His children and it is for our good, that we may share His Holiness (Hebrews 12:10). Sometimes, we deceive ourselves thinking that it is a set of rules and principles that God is imposing on us, but if we could only understand that it’s His way of setting us apart for something great, His Holiness. In the book of Genesis, we read a story of two brothers Esau and Jacob. In Genesis chapter 33 we see how Esau had all kinds of wealth, seen on verse 9 “…I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.”, whilst Jacob worked years and years for his uncle and yet in Malachi 1:2 the Lord declares “…I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated…” How is this true? How did God love Jacob and yet denied him of such wealth as Esau? There is only one answer to this. God blessed Esau but never intervened in his life and He didn’t give Jacob plenty as Esau, but he disciplined him, a symbol of how much He loved him. Above all else as mentioned in Hebrews 12:11 “discipline produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” As Christians and Holy Spirit born people, we ought to remember that the Father’s presence in our life is not all about granting us our worldly dreams. His number one priority is to make us holy and to conform us to the image of Christ.
"Sometimes, we deceive ourselves thinking that it is a set of rules and principles that God is imposing on us, but if we could only understand that it’s His way of setting us apart for something great, His Holiness."
