Who’s Your Daddy?

On Father’s Day, we celebrate our kindred fathers. We have no choice regarding our kindred father, but we do make the choice of who we recognize as our spiritual Father. Our choice is between the one true God - our heavenly Father; and the god of this world, satan.

God is first declared to be our Father in Deuteronomy 32:6 when Moses asks, “Is not He your Father who created you, who made you and established you?” God had Jeremiah express the desire of His heart to be our Father by directing him to write, “You shall call Me, My Father, and not turn away from following Me.” (Jeremiah 3:19).

Isaiah repeatedly proclaims, “You are our Father…You, O Yehovah, are our Father, our Redeemer, from everlasting is your name” (Isaiah 63:16). This is later explained in Ephesians 1:4 when Paul wrote, “God chose us in Jesus before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.” God our Father redeemed us by sending His Son to die for us, making us righteous in His sight.

At our physical birth we are not God’s spiritual children. The Bible explains how we become God’s spiritual children. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12). Paul explained, “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9-10).

When we come to faith, we “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and we are” (1 John 3:1).

The alternative to being God’s children is to be children of the devil. Jesus identified those who wanted to kill Him as children of the devil. “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires” (John 8:44). Further Jesus declares that satan is a murderer, a liar and in him is no truth. Satan only comes to “steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:9).

His children are children of disobedience and darkness (Ephesians 5:6). They are enemies of righteousness (Acts 13:10) and they are destined to wrath (Ephesians 2:3).

Our lives demonstrate the choice we make. “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:10). Practicing righteousness is to love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind; and your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27).

This Father’s Day, choose to honor and obey Yehovah as your spiritual Father. “Now, therefore, fear Yehovah and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the [false] gods” (Joshua 24:14). Be like Joshua and determine “as for me and my house, we will serve Yehovah” (Joshua 24:15).