Advent Devotion on the Lord’s Prayer
by Pastor Paul Wolff
Jesus said, “Pray then like this, ‘Our father, who art in heaven …’”
Matthew 6:9
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| Jesus prayed to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane. He also invites us to pray to God as our Father. |
God can be considered our Father because He is the one who created us all. Yet we have orphaned ourselves through our sin. It is not that we have killed our father, but rather, through our sin, we have killed ourselves and rebelled against our good and gracious heavenly Father. Yet, when Jesus teaches His disciples (and us) how to pray, He begins the prayer by teaching us to pray to God as “Our Father, who art in heaven.” This is a gracious invitation that Jesus would consider us His brothers and sisters that we could once again call God our Father. We can only do this due to the redemption that Jesus won for us by His perfect obedient life, and His innocent suffering and death. Since, because of our sin, we all have imperfect examples of what a Father ought to be, we may begin by asking, “What kind of a father is God?”
Several years ago there was a billboard campaign which purported to be some kind of messages from God. These billboards were likely well-intentioned, but were ultimately blasphemous. They showed a black billboard with white lettering ending in the simple tag, “– God” as if to imply that these messages came from God. It was blasphemous because none of the pithy sayings were quotes from Holy Scripture nor otherwise from God. All these messages only contained Law and no Gospel, and many of them contradicted clear teachings of God’s word. Nevertheless, they were sort of amusing in a superficial (though blasphemous) way. One that caught my attention said, “Don’t make me come down there. – God” as if God were a parent warning His disobedient children with vain threats. We should be aware, however, that God is not the kind of father who makes vain threats. When God makes threats they are real, and should be taken seriously, though God also provides rescue from sin and death through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe – which is why we take the time to celebrate His first Advent, and look forward to His second coming also.
I don’t know exactly what the billboard writers had in mind because they were a little late with their warning that if we disobey God we might make Him come down here to punish us. The first people God created (Adam and Eve) long ago let that cat out of the bag. Because Adam and Eve rebelled against God and brought sin into the world, God DID come down here. Fortunately, when God came down here He didn’t bring about the punishment the billboard sponsors were insinuating. When God came down here He didn’t come to judge and condemn us. Instead God the Father sent His only begotten Son down to rescue and redeem us from our sinfulness. This is the Gospel message. It is also one reason why the church where I am the assistant Pastor is named Emmanuel – God is here with us always for our forgiveness and salvation. The mere presence of God may not be such a happy occasion, unless God comes to rescue and redeem, and He does.
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| We can always turn to God as our beloved Father just as the prodigal son was happily received by his forgiving father. |
The incarnation of God as a man is the central event in all of human history. That is why we count our years from the date of Christ’s birth (or as close as could be determined at the time, though that is a story for another time). God knew before He made people that we would rebel against Him and we would be lost unless He did something to save us. Yet, He went ahead and created the people who would reject His authority and cause Him immense grief and suffering. Why would anyone do that? Only love could cause someone to go through that kind of suffering rather than avoid it. Saint Paul explained this to the Romans, “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:7-8) Christ’s sacrifice for our benefit is the very definition of God’s perfect love. That is why we celebrate Advent every year. All who believe in Christ as our savior rejoice at God’s coming to us to rescue and redeem us from our sins.
All man-made gods require something from their followers to prove that they are worthy of favor. This makes these false gods seem very demanding, but it also makes them seem able to be manipulated by the actions of people. This is why false gods are so attractive to people. Though the false gods can be harsh taskmasters, those who create false gods also make it seem to the people as if they can control their pretend gods. If you can control God, then you are lord over Him and you are, in effect, your own god. It isn’t real, but is just as pretend as the false gods, but ever since the first temptation where Adam and Eve fell into sin, people have been trying to become like a god and make our own rules. This is part of our continuing rebellion against God, our Father, and why we need to repent of our sins and ask God our Father to forgive our sins for the sake of Jesus.
The true God is not like the false gods. Jesus didn’t come to us to demand anything from us. There is nothing we can give God that doesn’t already belong to Him. We can’t make up for our sinful rebelliousness. Jesus didn’t come to take anything from us. He came to give. Jesus came to live the obedient human life that none of us are capable of doing. Jesus perfectly pleased God the Father with His obedient life, and then He offered His life in place of ours on the cross. Because of what Jesus did on the cross (and throughout His whole life) we are saved from our sins. All who trust in the forgiveness that Jesus won for us will be rescued from death and blessed with eternal life in paradise. This is why we can confidently pray to God as our Father and why we celebrate the Advent (“coming”) of Jesus and look forward with eager expectation to His Second Advent on the last day.
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