The Book Study - Chapter 1

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The Book Study







"In my Father's House", by Mary Kassian.

You can read more about this book here.

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Part 1: The Father Relationship

Chapter 1: The Fatherhood of God

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One word to sum up my thoughts on this chapter: WOW.

6/18/06

I'm generally a fast reader and after reading just the introduction and first chapter, I was ready to read on and finish up this book. It's good. It's really good. I don't want to be too eager, 'tho. I think there's so much depth in what I've already read that to rush through the reading would be a disservice to myself. The insight and wisdom that is available to me in this reading is abundant. I must have reread the selection about 10xs today and each time new things would jump out at me. I literally had to force myself to slow down and take a few moments to really internalize all the spiritual truths that resonated with me.

The lightbulb that clicked days ago about God being the "ultimate Father" has brought my relationship with God to a whole new level. I relate differently to him now. I know his presence and power is very real, but previously I had this sense that there was still something unobtainable about him and the promises that he says are available to me. This view is slowly changing.

I no longer view him as this nebulous, all-encompassing power. My brain and being will never fully understand God or his higher ways, but that's ok. I've been experiencing his presence like never before, with the latest moment occuring at church today. My heart flipflopped with so much joy that I seriously can't get enough of him. I find myself falling in love with the Lord and I just can't contain myself! :-)

He is the "ultimate Father", and I am his chosen daughter. It is this idea that I am pursuing going forward. The concept that he is my protector, my nurturer, my encourager, my provider of all my needs and of unconditional love - all the things that an earthly father is to instill in us.

Kassian points out that if our earthly father is able to instill those good things in us, then a relationship with our Heavenly Father is easier to grasp and to relate to, but if that earthly relationship is tarnished, then we project those skewed perceptions on to our relationship with God, and accepting God's love is that much more difficult. This might be a 'no brainer', but this is so much more than an intellectual concept. A Father-Daughter (or Father-Son) relationship with God is so very real. More real to me now than even some of the relationships I see around me.

6/19/06

Today I've been reflecting on what Kassian states on page 12 (see below for exerpt). What I've been thinking about today is the importance of choosing a partner who has the qualities I'd like to pass on to my future children. Is it just the total character of a man that would somehow encompass those fatherly traits, or is it possible to find a guy who is good in character but still lacking in the paternal instincts? Are the two sets of character traits independent of each other or, if one is present, then does that mean the other set of traits are naturally there too?

I've also been thinking about my relationship with my earthly father and how the dynamics of that relationship is projected onto my relationship with God. I'm still mulling over those thoughts, so more on that later.

6/24/06

Much has been happening in my heart and in my life this week. I've been rereading and reflecting on this chapter and I just can't put it all into words here. You can catch a glimpse of His current workings in my life through my previous post here, "Opening the Eyes of My Heart".

I'll end this week's 'book study' with a prayer:

Father God,

Thank you for being the awesome and wonderful God that you are. Thank you for loving me as intimately as you do, and for showing me who you are in my life and in my surroundings. I ask you to continue searching my heart for anything and everything that needs to be resolved, that needs to be made right, and that needs to be given over to you. Your ways are higher than my ways. Remind me of that, Lord, and continue to give me patience, strength, and courage to follow you, despite my circumstances and some of the disappointments I've been going through lately. Continue to bless me, Father, and help me to be a blessing to others.

In Your son's holy name,
Amen

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Reference excerpts:

page 5

When Jesus was on earth, his whole message was: "Come meet my Dad!" "Look at me," he said, "see what my Dad is like." "See how I imitate him!" "Let me tell you how much my Dad loves me!" "The love I have for you shows you how much my Dad loves you!" "The miracles I do are a result of the compassion and power of my Dad!" "The words I say, the things I teach, are truths from my Dad!" "Listen to me talk to my Dad." "Watch me spent time with my Dad." "Through me, he can be your Dad too!"

Jesus' message appeals to a fundamental need of the human heart: the need to be well fathered. Bringing us into a relationship with our heavenly Father was Christ's ultimate mission and goal. It was the reason he gave his life. Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). We enter into a relationship with Jesus so that he will lead us into the Father's house. At its root, a relationship with the Father is what the gospel is all about."

page 11

...Many Christians can quote John 14:6 that Jesus is the only way, but we may miss the key phrase. Jesus didn't say, "No one gets to go to heaven without me." He said, "No ones comes to the Father." According to Jesus, "coming to the Father" is what Christianity is all about. It's the ultimate goal of salvation.

I have seen many Christians minimize or neglect the importance of working on their relationship with the Father. This is a sad reflection of the times in which we live. Women are told that relating to God as Father is outdated, oppressive, and patriarchal. Men are told that emphasis on God's fatherhood is chauvinistic. As a result, many miss out, for they do not enter into the highest, richest, and most rewarding aspect of their whole relationship with God.

page 12

Try as we might to run from the concept of father, however, God had it hardwired into our souls. When God created people, he made them into the form of a family with a father and a mother. He did so because he knows what we need. Children need to come to trust an earthly dad so they will have the ability to trust the heavenly father.