As a Father

Psalm 103: 13, 14 “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.”

Some of us were not raised by compassionate fathers, but rather had fathers who were abusive, neglected us, or even abandoned us.  So the idea of God as our father is not all that comforting.

However, we have been reading in this entire chapter of the character of God – our father – and He is a father of compassion on those who fear him.  This is not referring to those who are afraid of him, but rather those who reverence him for who He is.

The latter half of the verse says God knows how we are formed and remembers that we are dust.  Remember the story of creation?  He created Adam out of the dust of the earth and breathed life into him.  And because Adam was earthly, and not divine, he had choices to make about his relationship with his Father.  God breathed into him the breath of life, but Adam had to choose to walk with God daily in obedience to his Father.

Compassion is more than just the name of an entity that solicits donors for children.  Compassion is more than just a tear that’s shed when we hear of the atrocities in our nation of child slavery, injustice, and terrorism. 

A father who truly has compassion for his children does everything possible in his power to strengthen them in the areas where they are weak or vulnerable.

And that’s the kind of Father we have.  He has compassion on us.  He is strong when we are weak.  He is powerful when we have no muscles left to flex.  And he mighty to save when we’ve fallen and need an air rescue.

He made us.  He knows us.  He’s our father.  He loves us.