You Are

I often think about You—who You are, what You’re doing, and where You are. I wonder if You’re happy with me or proud of who I’ve become. I think about how I long to articulate Your grandeur.

As a soon-to-be father, I ask myself, “How in the world am I supposed to teach my son about You when I can’t even begin to comprehend You myself?”

You Are…. Complicated.

You are the Creator of the universe. From the smallest atom to the expanse of the cosmos, all things bow, move, live, and breathe in rhythm with Your voice.

You are the beginning, yet You have no beginning.
You are the end, yet You have no end.
You are omnipresent, going before us, behind us, and surrounding us.

As we breathe the air You’ve given us, we inhale Your presence. That oxygen fills our lungs, courses through our veins, and sustains our lives. You are omniscient. You know us better than we know ourselves. You are the only One who can know us completely and yet love us fully. You are unchanging, yet You change everything.

You Are Simple.

As I anticipate holding my son in just a few short weeks, I know there’s no way he will understand everything I’ve just written—at least not for many years. And that’s okay. It took me a long time to grasp even a fraction of it.

When Jesus walked the earth, He showed us more about the Father than anyone else ever could. Jesus taught that God is our Father—a teaching that was revolutionary in His day. In the Old Testament, God is referred to as Father only a handful of times, usually in reference to His nature. For Jesus to say, “God is our Father,” was nothing short of radical.

Jesus gave us a clearer understanding of who God is. Through relationship, He turned a grand, blurry silhouette of God into a vivid image. This doesn’t make God any less majestic or powerful. In fact, it makes Him even more so.

God is still orchestrating creation. He spins the planets in their orbits. His power alone commands the sun to rise and set. He is the Creator of the universe.

And yet—He is also our Father. Not just any father, but a good Father.

You Are So Much More.

The reality is, I can no more explain who God is to my child than I could explain color to a blind man. God’s goodness defies comparison.

I could say He is like a shepherd because He guides and leads me. That would be true, but it barely scratches the surface.
I could call Him the King of kings and Lord of lords. Also true—but He is more than that.
I could describe Him as the trinitarian Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, through whom all life was created.
I could say He is the ultimate truth, the foundation upon which all reality rests.

But no description is enough. No human words can ever fully capture the essence of who God is.

Living Like I Believe.

Instead of trying to summarize who God is, perhaps the best way to explain Him to my son is by living like I truly believe God is who He says He is.

As a sheep in the Father’s flock, I want to show my son that even when I wander off, the Shepherd always brings me back. He rescues me from the downward spirals I create. He softens my heart when I’m wrong, leading me to repentance. He opens my eyes to the freedom of forgiveness when I’ve been wronged.

When I think of God as Lord of lords and King of kings, I recognize my limitations. I am human—flawed and finite. Only God has the authority to judge the hearts of men. While I can point others toward Him, only He sees their true intentions.

God is good. He is a far better Father than I could ever hope to be. If I can point my son to Him, in time, God will reveal Himself. He doesn’t need my feeble attempts to explain Him.

He just needs me to step aside, follow Him, and let Him do the rest.

-A Father in the Flock