Psalm 103 begins with a call to remember the awesome benefits of following God. David praises God and describes his goodness, likening God to a loving Father.
“The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:8-13, NIV)
God is compassionate toward his children. He doesn’t kick a believing son out of his family when he messes up. That’s what the erring child deserves, but that’s not what he gets. He gets grace. He gets forgiveness. He gets mercy.
In the New Testament, we see God showing these same attributes.
Jesus says a lot about God when he urges his followers to “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36, NIV) Paul describes God at the beginning of his second letter to the church in Corinth as “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.” (See 2 Corinthians 1:3.) John doesn’t call God Father in 1 John 1:9, but he tells the church that God “is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” when we confess our sins to him.
God’s power to forgive and forget goes well beyond our own, but we can forgive with his help. We can be merciful with his help. We can be gracious.
Dads, acting like your heavenly Father in this matter may be the most important thing you do. If you are not compassionate and merciful, how will your kids ever believe that God is gracious? If you are harsh, they may believe he is harsh and reject him.
Perhaps, in part, this is why Paul gives the following instruction to you and me in Colossians 3:21. “Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.” (NIV)
Be compassionate, dads. Be gracious. “Be merciful, just as your Father [in heaven] is merciful.” (Luke 6:36, NIV)
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