One night, not long ago, during family devotions, the book we were going through asked the question, “Do you think of Jesus as a friend?”
Isaiah answered, “I think of him more as a father. But like a father that’s our friend. Like how Daddy is our father and our friend.”
Our father and our friend. Let that sink in for a moment. This is who God is.
Sometimes I think we paint God as a father who is angry and just wants us to pull it together. Or we go the other way and think of him as our buddy to kick back with. No responsibilities, just junk food and video games.
But he is neither a dictator nor is he our bro.
He cares that skittles are our favorite and that the guy at work really hurt our feelings. But he also believes we can be so much more than we’re shooting for, so he’s always stretching us and encouraging us to be who we’re supposed to be.
He is a father and a friend.
Conversations with my kids make it clear why Jesus told us we needed to have the heart of a child to come into the Kingdom.