A Day at a Time · Chapter
XXVIII: The Fatherhood of God explained
This chapter explores the profound implications of Jesus' teaching that God is our heavenly Father, emphasizing His goodwill, compassion, and forgiveness.
What happens
This chapter explores the profound implications of Jesus' teaching that God is our heavenly Father, emphasizing His goodwill, compassion, and forgiveness. It contrasts this loving conception with harsh or fearful views of God, and reflects on the silence of God in times of grief, trusting that His gifts are never mere stones.
Themes in this chapter
Faith and Trust in God
Central theme: trusting God as a loving Father even in silence and suffering.
Love and Generosity
God's fatherly love is portrayed as generous, forgiving, and willing to suffer for His children.
Divine Presence in Everyday Life
The Fatherhood of God is applied to daily experiences of grief, hope, and parental love.
Characters to notice
- Jesus Christ
Quoted as teaching the Fatherhood of God and inviting trust in the heavenly Father's goodness.
- Henry Drummond
Mentioned as describing a miserable early conception of God as a staring eye, contrasted with a father's love.
- Coventry Patmore
Author of the poem 'The Toys,' quoted to illustrate a father's forgiveness and God's fatherly compassion.
Key passages
“If ye then, being evil, know … how much more … your heavenly Father.”
If you, despite your flaws, know how to give good gifts, how much more will your perfect heavenly Father give good things to those who ask.
Jesus' teaching on God's surpassing goodness compared to human parents.
“The truth of the Fatherhood of God, vouched for and lived on by Jesus, kills men’s hard and unworthy and hurtful thoughts about God as sunshine kills the creatures that breed and prevail in darkness and ignorance.”
Jesus' revelation of God as a loving Father destroys harsh and harmful ideas about God, just as sunlight destroys creatures that thrive in darkness.
Metaphor for the transformative power of understanding God's fatherly nature.
“I will be sorry for their childishness.”
God will forgive our immature and foolish actions, just as a father forgives his child's naivety.
From Coventry Patmore's poem, illustrating divine compassion.