"For One is your Father"

Today's reading is Matthew 23. Woah. What an in your face chapter! Hubby sat down with me this evening and we read the chapter together. After finishing, I mentioned that it would have been really hard to be on the receiving end of Christ's rebuke. I can just imagine the group of men standing near Jesus as their faces get redder and redder and their bodies get more and more tense with anger. They deserved the rebuke but it would have been really difficult to hear in person!

That said, I can still seeking out more information about God's character. Here is today's gem:

Do not call anyone on earth your father;
for One is your Father,
He who is in heaven.
Matthew 23:9

I'm not certain that I fully grasp the meaning of this verse. At first, hubby and I discussed the possibility that it was instructing us to not call our biological father "father." That can't be it, though...

Instead, I think the verse is saying that we should not treat anyone on earth with the same measure of spiritual respect that we offer God. We don't need a human mediator to explain God, to forgive our sins, etc. Instead, we go directly to God in a one on one relationship. I don't have to approach another sinful human being in order to talk to God. I can talk to Him directly as He is my Father.

Father, I thank You for being my Father. Thank You for caring for me and for showing that I can come to You directly. Please help me to remember that I can approach You without fear because You are always willing to hear me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.