Responding to our Father

Jesus is His Firstborn Son

We gain precious insight into a son’s proper mindset from Jesus’ own example. Jesus Christ took His role as a son very seriously.

1) The Son honors His Father.

Over and over when Jesus healed somebody that person gave God the glory. Once Jesus prayed,  “Father, glorify Your name.” (John 12:28)

Jesus always sought to bring attention, honor and glory to His Father. Notice what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount,

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

• Circle the word ‘glorify’ above. 

• Finish the sentence “Glorify _____________________ who is in heaven.”

Who are we taught to honor? Us? No! Our Father in heaven! We deliberately need to bring Him the glory because He is the One doing great things.

2) The Son trusts and obeys His Father.

God gives us a great promise, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God...” Romans 8:28.

Those things may not always be pleasant or easy. But nothing is ever out of God’s control. He can even use painful and confusing situations to bring about a greater good for us and others than otherwise could happen.

A brother’s testimony: “Once, I was looking for a job and found an interesting but low paying one. That particular job wouldn’t have met my financial needs for the upcoming school year. My father asked me to turn it down, promising he would loan me money while I continued to search. I could have held on to the sure job that I had. But I decided to trust my heavenly Father to provide me with a better job as I obeyed Him by obeying my earthly father. God gave me a special peace about giving up that one sure job and ultimately provided me with the best internship I’ve ever had!”

3) The Son depends on His Father.

Jesus was very dependent upon His Father’s provision.  So are we, but we can always trust God to care for us. Jesus says, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him” (Matthew 7:11)!

Our Father wants to bless us (although not always how we expect). He cares for our well-being. We need to learn to often ask for His blessing! Our Father loves to work in response to our prayers.

Application:

Identify an area of your life that hasn’t been honoring to your Father. Seek to change your attitudes and ways. Pray for His help. Next ->