Notes from the book:
To trust someone is to believe that he or
she has your best interests in mind, that the person will protect you from harm
and is reliable[1]. God
as Abba: Abba is best translated “Dear Father.” As New Testament scholar C.F.D.
Moule notes, “The intimate word conveys not a casual sort of familiarity but
the deepest, most trustful reverence. In Mark 14:36 Jesus prays “Abba, Father,
for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want,
but what you want”. In the moment of his deepest suffering, Jesus trusted in
his heavenly father[2].
Many people have been deeply wounded by
their biological father and this makes thinking about God as Father very
difficult. The solution is not to abandon the term father but to let Jesus
define it[3].
This can be defined through the Lord’s
Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. First we learn that God is near: in Jewish cosmology
heaven did not refer to a place that is far away. Heaven referred to the
surrounding atmosphere, the very air they breathed; therefore God is present[4].
“Hallowed be your name”: God is holy and pure. “Your kingdom come”: God is the
King who rules heaven and is powerful. “Give us… our daily bread”: God cares
for us and provides. God forgives our trespasses and pardons us. God rescues us
from trials and evils and is our protector. These attributes provide strong
images of who God is and what fatherhood means[5].
The author admits that even though he tries
his best to be a good father, he often fails. People around him may rate him as
a decent father but he is well aware of his own deficiency. His point is that
God’s fatherhood must define what human fatherhood ought to look like, and not
the reverse. The way God is Father to him teaches him how to be a good father
to his children[6].
The God that Jesus reveals is not only a
perfect reflection of what fatherhood ought to be but motherhood as well.
Sometimes we think of fathers as strong and stern providers, and mothers as
gentle and meek supporters. But in Jesus’ description of the Father above, we
see a perfect balance of all of these characteristics[7].
Jesus asked his Abba to remove his “cut”
from him. The cup represents the things that are forced on us in life. We all
must ask, what is my “cup”? What aspect of your life makes it difficult for you
to trust God? Relationship breakdown? Death of a loved one? Death of a dream?
Loss of a business? Loss of some physical capacity? A “cup” is anything that we
struggle with accepting as our lot in life. And our cup is usually the thing
that makes it difficult to believe God is good[8].
The author describes his story of how he
took his son to an amusement park and got on a very scary ride. He found it
very scary while his son had a lot of fun. He asked his son, “weren’t you
scared?” and his son replied with childlike honesty, “Because you did, Dad.” So
the little guy trusted him[9]!
Likewise, Jesus knew he was loved by his
Father and was therefore able to trust him through the pain. Our relationship
to the Father is a “trusting response to known love.” So in this chaotic world
full of natural disasters, plane crashes, child molesters etc., the author does
not try to force himself to say all is well, but that “Jesus trusted his Abba,
and I will also trust in the God I know to be good.[10]”
The pain is still real, but it becomes bearable.
We can then, in time, begin to move on. And we can begin to see beyond the
suffering and look toward the widespread mercy that surrounds us. A lecturer to
a group of businessman displayed a sheet of white paper in which was one blot.
He asked what they saw. All answered “a blot.” There is an ingratitude in human
nature by which we notice the black disfigurement and forget the widespread
mercy[11].
The author uses the story of a little girl who was opening her presents at a
birthday party: she especially wanted a certain gift that she did not get. One
by one she opened each present and everyone watched her snub her nose and push
each package aside. It was a startling example of ingratitude[12].
The author’s son got on a scary
amusement-park ride that he should have been frightened of, but instead he
smiled the entire time. Why? Because of who was on the ride with him: the one
who fed him clothed him, bathed him, prayed with him, taken care of him when he
was sick and provided everything he ever needed. Likewise is our God. The key
is to remember who is riding with us. The least we can do is enjoy the ride[13].
Reflections:
A “cup” is that aspect of our life that
makes it difficult for us to trust God[14].
I have several “cups” in my own life, one of the most significant one being the
passing away of my father in 2013 from complications associated with a heart
attack.
It was a time when all things seemed to
have gone well, my father just received his Australian Permanent Residency
which I paid a pretty hefty sum for through the parent migrations scheme and
was looking forward to living in Sydney. I received an emergency call that my
father had just been admitted into the hospital with a heart attack in Taiwan.
My church pastors interceded for him and I immediately flew overseas. All
seemed to have gone smoothly in hospital and he was discharged. On the day of
discharge I decided to visit a local church. My father offered to accompany me
but he initially refused to go in. I told him it’s just a short five minute
look so he came in as well. The head pastor happened to be in there and lead my
father to do the prayer to accept Jesus. Two days later as I was in transit flying
back to Sydney, I received news that my father had suddenly passed away in
front of my mother at home! Initially I did not understand how this could
happen as I had faith, the church prayed for him, and many middle aged men
walks out of a heart attack pretty fine for many years.
I tend to be quite honest to God and did
not pretend that everything was fine as some Christians do (some can be in
denial of reality, distracting themselves by singing a few worship songs
instead of facing it, and mistakenly think that is faith). My emotional garbage
can exploded and I realised I had been suppressing many of my emotions into my
subconsciousness for most of my life. The good thing was that my faith gave me
resilience and I still trusted God[15].
However, this event made me revaluate my relationship with my father and realise
the shallowness of it. My father had been a stoic person who either suppressed
his emotions into his subconsciousness or simply refused to share his thoughts.
Our communications tended to be task-orientated. It was a pity I never truly
gotten to know him as not only did he not let others know him, but I did not
give him the time and patience needed to establish a deeper relationship
either. I did not look out for the nonverbal communications. This event made me
slow my pace down and treasure my interpersonal relationships more. This event
shifted my life direction: my focus started shifting onto building relationships, especially the relationship with
my mother, which subsequently led to her faith in Christ and baptism.
Bibliography:
Smith, James Bryan. The Good and Beautiful God. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2010.
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