Father’s Day
2018년 6월 17일Ever wonder why we call God “Father”? According to Rabbi Asher Finkel, Jews call God “Abba” (Father) because, unlike the love between mother and child which is instinctive, the love of a father for his child must be experienced. So it was with Israel. Love for God was not instinctive but rather had to be experienced.
Thus Israelites experienced the liberating love of God who set them free from slavery in Egypt; the guiding love of God who gave them the Law through Moses; the nurturing love of God who fed them manna in the desert; the disciplinary love of God who, through the prophets, foretold of disaster for breaking the covenant; and time and again, the mercy of God who brought them back from captivity in Babylon and restored the Temple and the king.
Likewise we must experience the love of God in our lives just as we experience our own father’s love. Our experience of one may influence our belief in the other. If our dads are stern, distant and angry, we might think God is that way. Conversely, if our father is kind, loving and wise we are likely to attribute those same qualities to God.
Let us love our human father’s despite their faults or weaknesses. In the same way, let us pray to God the Father to bless our earthly fathers with the strength and grace they need to live up to the awesome role God has given them.