John 1: 18 NIV
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
Why did Jesus come to earth? There are a number of reasons, one of which was to reveal the Father. No one knew the Father but the Son. Jesus came to reveal God in all His glory but also to reveal Him as the Father of all.
This becomes clear as a point of contention between Jesus and the Jewish ruling class. They were Israel’s leaders, but they didn’t’ know God. Jesus tried to show them the person of the Father. The Jewish leaders were insulted because they were supposed to be the spiritual leaders of the nation. Jesus spoke to them as though they didn’t know the Father, and truly, they did not.
What does any of this mean to us? We see the tension amongst the Jewish leaders as we read the New Testament, but things are different now. Or are they? It is easy for us as Christians to focus so much of our attention on our beloved and revered savior that we forget that he came to point us to the Father. Jesus said, “I am the way.” The way to what? To whom? Jesus always points to God. Though we honor and love Jesus, we are not supposed to stop there.
I came to a place in my life where I was having an increasingly good relationship with Jesus only to find I had almost none with the Father. It took me some time to come into the same kind of close and meaningful relationship with the Father.
Check yourself? Are you as close to the Father as you would like to be? Do you talk with Jesus often but only sporadically with our Father? Do you take Dad fishing and hiking with you? Or is it only Jesus who accompanies you when you leave Church? As we turn our faces towards Easter, make it your mission to draw closer to the Father. Know Him as Father. He is the one who loves you most.