Mary, What Was That Night Like for You?
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God the Dad
The wisdom of little kids. Teaching religious ed to a four-year-old grandson can be quite a treat, and quite a spiritual revelation. Ah, to see the world—and God—through his eyes.
I was teaching him about the Trinity—well, as much as one can teach a preschooler the concept of three distinct persons in one God, a concept that no one can really comprehend. Of course, the proverbial three leaf clover was my go-to tool for this topic.
The conversation went something like this, as I pointed to each of the three clover leaves separately, attributing one Person of the Trinity to each leaf.
Me, “God the Father (leaf one), God the Son (leaf two), God the Holy Spirit (leaf three).”
I repeated again, pointing to each leaf. My grandson mimicked me, pointing to each appropriate leaf, “God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, God the Dad.”
Yes, a definite chuckle escaped my mouth—OK, an outright muffled laugh. Yet the wisdom of this connection between a father and a dad, the simple truth about God the Father whom Jesus called, “Abba, Dad,” came from a four-year-old.
Abba is actually a familial term, which can be translated as “Daddy.” Instinctively, my grandson, in calling God the Father Dad, caught this connection while revealing a comforting truth. Not only did he unknowingly speak a deep truth about God the Father, but he showed the depth of the love that my son-in-law has for him, that his human father is a true, loving dad.
Yet Dad is what God the Father is to us, as Jesus taught us in addressing Him as Abba. God, the infinitely powerful Being Who, way beyond our comprehension, created the seemingly endless universe and everything in it from absolutely nothing; the Being Who created our Earth; the Being Who created all of the flora and fauna. He Who created each of us is so infinitely loving, gentle, and humble that He allows us to call Him Daddy. He is lovingly approachable as a true daddy.
God is not a dictatorial, judgmental, punishing God as He is too often depicted. He is not the God Who has a book in which He records and keeps track of each infraction of our lives.
God is a totally loving, merciful, caring Father Who is ready to forgive our transgressions the instant that we repent and ask for His forgiveness. Then He forgets these sins. Yes, by His own choice, God forgets our sins once we seek His forgiveness. He forgives and then forgets.
God is the perfectly loving and merciful Dad—our Heavenly Daddy.
Perhaps this truth was somehow revealed to my grandson. Perhaps it was merely the connection made to his loving human dad. Regardless, how cool is it that God can speak through the little ones, allow such theological wisdom to escape their lips? How He can and does speak through the insignificant in the world’s eyes. He is our infinitely caring Dad. He is our Daddy. Can we conceive this? Can we relate to God as our Dad and not the judgmental dictator that He is too often perceived to be?
God the Dad. I love it.
I am a cradle Catholic, the eldest of eleven siblings. My passions are nature, theology, and writing. I believe t my passion for writing to be a gift from God, to the point that I earned an M.F.A. in Creative Writing with emphases in Creative Nonfiction. My husband, my best friend, and I met while we were both stationed in Anchorage, AK in the Air Force in 1972 and married later that year. Thus I am an Air Force Vietnam Era veteran. We are blessed with two children and five grandchildren. My passion for nature led me to become a habitat steward for the National Wildlife Federation. It was also likely an integral part of my discernment toward my vocation and subsequent profession in the Secular Franciscan Order in 2007, following in the footsteps of the great saint of nature, St. Francis of Assisi. God also gifted me with ministries for the Holy Souls in Purgatory and lectoring at Mass. I have recently turned my writing completely over to God to do as He wishes with it. I trust that He will let me know what He needs me to write.
