Jesus teaches us to call God not just “our Father,” but “our Father in heaven.” Jesus wants us to have the proper balance in how we think of God. He is our Father and loves us better and more tenderly than the best earthly father ever could. But he is also God. Even earthly fathers must be treated with respect. How much more so this heavenly Father who is the infinite, holy God who created us and everything else? We come freely to God as to our loving Father, but we must also come respectfully to God, as to the Ruler of the universe.
The prophet Malachi rebuked the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem from exile. The Jews were coming to offer God sacrifices in worship, but they were selecting the lame or the sick animals from their flocks and bringing those as offerings, instead of giving God the best. God said he would not accept such worship, because he is the great King of all the earth whose name is to be feared. Malachi 1:6–14 and Isaiah 66:1–2.
Excerpt From: Starr Meade. “Comforting Hearts, Teaching Minds.”
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