I am the third child of my father. Although he sometimes suggests that I was found under a rock – perhaps my behavior has on occasion caused him to wish for some disassociation – there is an undeniable resemblance between us. Not only do I look like him, but that questionable behavior is more like him than he may care to admit. Nothing will ever convince me that I am anything less than my father’s daughter. There is surety in that knowledge, confidence, a sense of place, identity. I’m not talking about the love between a father and a child, although certainly that exists in abundance. I’m talking about a fact; a fact that can never be earned, altered, or taken away.
We see this same relationship between Jesus and his Father. Matthew 3:17 describes the Father claiming his Son, “This is my beloved Son…” and Jesus acknowledging his Father in John 10:18 (among other places) by saying, “This charge I received from my Father.” Jesus is the son of the father and God is the father of the son. These are undeniable facts that cannot be changed any more than I could suddenly NOT be my father’s daughter.
My relationship with my father is modeled after Jesus’ relationship with his Father. As such I have the same surety that he had in that I am a child of God. A simple, undeniable fact that is entirely unrelated to my good deeds, pleasing behaviors, or efforts to win favor (not to mention all the crappy things I do from time to time). With this sure sense of place in the world, this unchangeable knowledge that I am God’s daughter, this identity comes many gifts. The one most on my heart today is that of giving up any sense of fear that this identity could be lost.
With the surety of knowing that God is my Father, I can release the need to be right, to sit at the head table, to perform. Nothing can change the fact that He is my Father, it is an unalterable fact. My identity is as a child of my Father.