In Malachi 2:10, the Prophet Malachi asks: “Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?”  This is the love of inclusion, treating everyone as family.   Jesus is the true master teacher of Spirit as Father.  He says:

1.  Glorify Your Father

In Matthew 5:16, Jesus teaches us to let our lights shine – not merely to benefit ourselves, but to glorify our Father: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

2. Love Like Your Father

Jesus teaches us in Matthew 5:44-48 that our love should be so strong, so powerful, so unconditional that it must cover our friends as well as our enemies so that we may be one with our Father.  He says “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

3. Give Like Your Father

Jesus teaches us to be private in our giving so that the Father will reward us.  In Matthew 6:1-4, he says: “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

4. Trust Your Father

Jesus teaches us that when we pray, the Father wants us to pray in secret, to not repeat ourselves, and to know that our Father already knows what we need. In Matthew 6:5-8, he says:   “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

5. Affirm Your Father’s Blessings

And then, Jesus tells us what to say to the Father, in Matthew 6:9-13:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.”

He says that our Father blesses us, feeds us, forgives us, and protects us each day.

6. Be As Merciful As Your Father

In Mark 6:36, Jesus told us to be merciful.  He said “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”  In Matthew 6:14, Jesus teaches us that our forgiveness is imperative.  He says  ^“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

7. Seek First Your Father’s Kingdom

In Matthew 6: 25-33, Jesus teaches us that all we have to do is put God first.  He says: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?  So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” 

8. Do Your Father’s Will

In Matthew 7:21, Jesus teaches us that we must do our Father’s will rather than our own. He says “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

9. Ask Your Father

In Matthew 18:19, Jesus teaches us to come together – all it takes is two – and the Father will reward us “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” In Luke 12:32, Jesus teaches us not to be afraid because he says our Father will bless us. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”

10. Sacrifice to Your Father

In Matthew 19:29, Jesus teaches us that whatever we give or sacrifice to the Father will return to us a hundredfold.  He says “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.”

11. Come Home to Your Father

In Luke 15, Jesus teaches us that we can always come home to the Father, that we will always be blessed even if we have abandoned our Father, even if we have squandered our blessings, even if we are downtrodden and have lost our way.  In Luke 15:20-22, Jesus tells the story of the prodigal son who returned home after living a life of sin – he said  So he got up and went to his father.  “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.  The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.  But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.”  We know that this is not just a story of a son returning to his father – this is a story of us returning to a consciousness of absolute good, of infinite supply, of lasting grace.  The father said: “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours” (Luke 15:31).

12. Be As Christ in Your Father

Jesus said

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46)

“I live because of the Father.”  (John 6:57)

“I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30)

“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2)

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

“Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12)

“On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” (John 14:20)

“My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” (John 16:23)

“The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26)

 In my Father, I am in the heart of God.

In my Father, I live and move and have my being in all of the love, all of the goodness, all of the peace, and all of the protection that the universe can give to me.

In my Father, I am in an infinite flow of love that is present in every cell and every muscle and every bone of my physical body and every idea, every thought, every desire, every dream.

In my Father, there is no separation between me and all that God is.

 

In the Father, we have the same power and abilities and consciousness and ability that Jesus has. 

 

In the Father, we bless everything, heal everyone, prosper and command and decree everything that we wish. 

 

In the Father, we glorify, we love, we give, we trust, we affirm, we are merciful, wee seek him first, we do his will, we sacrifice, we come home to all that the Father expresses as us – and we welcome the Christ in us as Christ in the Father.

 

Oh Father, I never left you.  Father, I am grateful for all that you are.  Father, without you, I would be nothing.

 

Father, I look into your face of infinite prosperity and abundant blessings, and I say thank you. 

 

Thank you for your teachings.  Thank you for your blessings.  Thank you for your healings.  Thank you for being there for me, when I couldn’t be there for myself.   Thank you for letting me know that anytime we need him – our Father is always here. 

 

Happy Father’s Day.

For all of our fathers and for all of those who are fathering.