The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. For this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill him, because he did these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, so I am working, too.” For this cause therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God. John 5:15-18
Today, let’s focus on Jesus and his relationship to his Father. Jesus, the Son of God, came to us in the form of flesh and blood in the role as the Son of Man. He lived on the earth as a man but always maintained a close relationship with God, the Father. Through this relationship, Jesus received guidance about everything he should do and say (John 5:19-20). And because of his relationship, he never had any reason to act out of fear or to do thing contrary to God’s ways. He knew his Father would provide for him. Thus Jesus got into trouble with the religious authorities because he refered to God as his own Father or his own Dad. The religious authorities did not like this. They did not think it was right for some one to claim such a close and personal relationship with God who was so powerful and holy, a relationship that they themselves lacked.
Yet, what the religious leaders thought did not matter to Jesus. Yes, he knew that his God was all powerful and holy, but that also he was personally and intimately involved in Jesus’ life, just like any father would be involved in the lives of his children. So God was not just ‘a father’ to Jesus; he was ‘my Father’ to Jesus. And we should have the same realization in our lives.
Through Jesus’ death on the cross the way was opened for us to become connected to the Father through the new birth in Christ as the Apostle Paul explains in Galatians 4:4-7:
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because you are sons, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a bond servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Those of us who have received Christ have been adopted into God’s family! We are legally just as much children of God as Jesus is. Thus we can, like Jesus, call God our Father. We can recognize and receive our privileges as sons and daughters of God. For we are part of his family and our Father wants to be involved in our lives and take care of our needs, wants and desires. So let us then begin to acknowledge God as our Father, as one who intimately cares for us and develop our relationship with him. And if some one asks if you can prove that God exists you can say, “I will do better than that, I can show you one of his children!”