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A Tender, Merciful Father, September 14
Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that
fear him.
Psalm 103:13
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Our God should be regarded as a tender, merciful father. The service of
God should not be looked upon as a heart-saddening, distressing exercise.
It should be a pleasure to worship the Lord and to take part in His work.
As the people of God meditate upon the plan of salvation their hearts will
be melted in love and gratitude....
God would not have His children, for whom so great a salvation has
been provided, act as though He were a hard, exacting taskmaster. He
is their best friend, and when they worship Him, He expects to be with
them to bless and comfort them and fill their hearts with joy and love. The
Lord desires His children to take comfort in His service, and to find more
pleasure than hardship in His work. The Lord desires that those who come
to worship Him shall carry away with them precious thoughts of His care
and love that they may be cheered in all the employments of daily life, that
they may have grace to deal honestly and faithfully in all things....
We dishonor God when we think of Him only as a judge ready to pass
sentence upon us, and forget that He is a loving Father. The whole spiritual
life is molded by our conceptions of God, and if we cherish erroneous
views of His character, our souls will sustain injury. We should see in God
one who yearns toward the children of men, longing to do them good....
All through the Scriptures, God is represented as one who calls, woos
by His tender love, the hearts of His erring children. No earthly parent
could be as patient with the faults and mistakes of their children as is God
with those He seeks to save. No one could plead more tenderly with the
transgressor. No human lips ever poured out more tender entreaty to the
wanderer than does He. O shall we not love God, and show our love by
humble obedience? Let us have a care for our thoughts, our experiences,
our attitude toward God, for all His promises are but the breathings of
unutterable love
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The Review and Herald, January 14, 1890
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