Did you have a good father? Many people did, and if you’re fortunate, your father is still around. However there are some people who did not have a good father. Some had abusive fathers, knocking them around like a punching bag, or mistreating them in other ways. Perhaps their father was an alcoholic or used illicit drugs, and the family suffered. Maybe their father was never around, always working or involved with his friends or hobbies, or their father just got up and walked out. When these folks hear the word “father”, nothing but hurt and angry thoughts come. Sometimes it can even hinder their relationship with the Lord God, especially when He is frequently referred to as our Father. In our Scripture today there is reassurance that God is not an abusive or neglectful father, but instead one that loves His children deeply.
One thing that some people found difficult in their relationship with their fathers is how hard he was on them when they were children. They remember their father as always angry, having no understanding and no mercy on their childhood frailties. Their father was a stern man, always quick with the belt or the fist, and now they have transferred these feelings to God. The term “father” means an angry and unforgiving man, and they feel that is what God must be if He is a “father”. Our Scripture passage from Psalm 103 shows us that this is not the case.
We open in verse 8, where God’s Word tells us that the Lord is merciful, gracious, and slow to anger. Even a casual, quick read-through of the Bible shows us that perhaps one of the greatest characteristics of God is His mercy towards us. Mercy is when God withholds the just punishment for our sins that we deserve. When we sin, which we all do, God is not quick to strike us down in punishment for what our sins deserve (vs. 10). That is something that many can relate to with their earthly, physical fathers. If they slipped up, their father’s anger and wrath would come raining down upon them. Sometimes for the slightest infraction the punishment would be way over the top. However, the Bible tells us that God is slow to anger, and when He does punish, it isn’t as much as we would deserve. God’s anger does not last forever. It is quickly past. If we genuinely confess our sins to Him, He will forgive (I John 1:9). God does not hold grudges.
How high is the sky above us? If we climb to the highest mountain top, there is still sky above us. Up in an airplane, there is sky above the plane. Even in a spacecraft, there is sky or the heavens above that. We can keep going and going, and never reach a place where there isn’t something still above. The psalmist uses that metaphor to describe how great God’s mercy is to those who fear, or show deep respect towards Him (vs. 11). Perhaps our father did not show us any mercy or love, or maybe just a little, but then it quickly ran out, but that is not the case with our Heavenly Father.
Maybe our father was one to always bring up our mistakes and failings, continually reminding us of when we did wrong here, and failed there. They may have said they forgave us, but they continually brought it up again and again. That is not the case with our Heavenly Father. When He forgives us, He removes that transgression from us as far as the east is from the west (vs. 12). It is impossible to bring the east and the west together. Even so it is impossible to bring the forgiven sinner and his forgiven sins together. When God forgives our sins, He separates it from us, and doesn’t even remember it. We need never wallow in the past, for God forgives and forgets. He wipes our record clean. He is a good and loving Father.
A good father will observe his young child struggling with something, have pity on them, and seek to help them out. They will listen and try to help out if their child is dealing with a difficult problem. They try to make things easier for them. And if they are sick or feeling bad, they have pity and do whatever they can to make them better. A good father has compassion on his children, considering their weaknesses, immaturity, and ignorance. They won’t require more from them then they are able. They will have patience and mercy. Even more so, the Lord has pity on His children (vs. 13). God is the best of fathers, even better than the best of earthly fathers.
As we see, many people may have had a difficult relationship with their fathers, some even wishing they could forget him altogether. Some may have looked at other neighborhood fathers, seeing how kind and loving they were to their children, and wished they could have had a father like that, one that they could have run lovingly into the arms of. However, they do not need to hesitate to call God their Father. God is the perfect Father. He loves us completely, and infinitely better than the best earthly father ever could.
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