Do You Believe in God the Father?

I do.

But for Martin Luther believing in God the Father is more about believing in God the creator. In the catechism, Luther reminds us that God made us and everything that exists. Luther actually lists “shoes and clothing, food and drink, house and farm, spouse and children, fields, livestock and all property” among the things that God made for us.

I would add fingers and toes and a sense of humor.

But the main point here for Luther, and for us, is that God had a part in our actual creation, from that first microscopic cell division to our final, shallow breaths, God has a part in all of it.

I do not have any biological children. Although I do claim the 400 or so children of our parish as my own. Sometimes when I am out in public dressed in clerics, people will call me “Father.”  I used to correct them with “I am Pastor.”  But nowadays, I just let it go.

Like the fathers that we honor this Sunday who take care of and teach children, I trust that God the Father is at work in our lives by showing us how to live and to love, and encouraging us to be more than we ever imagined we could be.

Believing with you,

Pastor John D. Morris