God is eternal.  He is infinitely greater than we can ever imagine.  He lives outside of time, and there was an infinite amount of time before He created the angels, the heavens and the earth.  But was there a time when He first thought of creating angels and nature and man so He could have glory?  Or was that thought always with Him?  Does He have a linear component to Him?  We are created in His image, and living inside time, we discover things.  Does God discover things?  No – because He’s greater than that, right?  He is the Discovery.

I find it amazing that God still chose to create us, even though we’ve caused Him so much pain.  And that He still delights in us, even though we’re such fallen creatures.  And that He sent His Son to die for us, and conquer death and rise again for us, so we could be His children, so we could be intimate with Him, so we could call Him Abba Father.

I’ve always had a hard time contemplating the “Father-ness” of the Heavenly Father, because I didn’t have a “Daddy” growing up.  I had a “Dad” whose extent of contact was two cards every year – birthday and Christmas, accompanied by usually a small gift of some sort.  He visited me (and other relatives) once when I was eight or so.  I went to spend two weeks with him when I was 11.  So there was an awkwardness, which still exists to this day, because I didn’t develop a relationship with him.

But with God as my “Daddy,” my “Papa,” my Abba Father – I can run to Him and give Him a big hug.  My soul is nourished and comforted just as if I had hugged Him physically.  I can approach His throne with confidence – He will never turn me away.  I can look to His Son – who is the exact representation of the Father – and see the lovingkindness and tenderness in His eyes.  I have His word which tells me all these things, which stirs up in my soul through the Holy Spirit.  It pierces me to my marrow, and excises the bad (if I let it), and replaces it with good.  God is the Giver of all good things.  He has prepared beforehand good things I get to do.  It is a privilege to live with and serve and love Him.  He is my Abba Papa, whose unconditional love and forgiveness inspire me, and pour out over me like a waterfall.   I can choose to let that waterfall flow through me to others whom I need to love unconditionally and forgive.  His generosity does the same thing to me – how could I not give my time, effort, money and every thing He calls me to give when I’ve been given so much?

Yet so often I do the exact opposite of what I should do.  I am so self-centered, so self-absorbed, so set on the things I want to do.   I think my way is best (better than others’, better than God’s), and I act on that belief.  Then I repent (turn away from) these things, because God shows me a better way.  My heart and my head knowledge meld for a time, so that my heart beliefs change from “my way is better” into what my head knowledge already knows, which is “God is sovereign, and His way is infinitely better than mine.”