Hymns: Good Good Father

In this series, I take a look at some modern worship songs as an old guy 😀. I try not to be critical. My purpose really is to familiarize myself with them. Writing about them helps me to do just that. Hymns have always been a key part of my life, along with secular music. This is particularly true of my life since I committed my life to Christ back in 1980.

Both old and new hymns often have peculiar lyrics that you tend to focus on the first time you hear them. For example, the old hymn “I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold.” Well, I never remember anyone given me the option. But it’s true that I’d rather have Jesus 😀.

The first thing that I noticed was superfluous words. As a technical writer, I’m in the habit of being concise.

You're a good, good father
It's who You are, it's who You are, it's who You are
And I'm loved by you
It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am

But why should we worry about superfluous words? For example, the Beatles could have ended Hey Jude without the na na na na na na na bit, but we don’t complain about that 😀.

By saying “it’s who you are”, maybe he means that his first thought about God is the fact that God has become his father. He has been adopted, and God is good to him, as a good father would be. And when he thinks of himself, the first thought that comes to mind is that he is loved by God. Isn’t it amazing that the creator of the universe loves us as individuals? Why would he not view us in the way that we might view ants? Whether or not you take the early chapters of the Bible literally, the clear teaching is that humans have a very special place in the universe. Even atheists are frequently amazed at what we are.

The first verse mentions how there are all sorts of opinions in the world, and even within Christian circles, on what God is like, but they key thing is his own personal intimate relationship with God.

I’ve heard a thousand stories of what they think You’re like
But I’ve heard the tender whisper of love in the dead of night

I like the fact that a modern worship song addresses the Father. It’s plainly acceptable to worship Jesus and the Holy Spirit, but many modern hymns don’t mention the Father. It’s often said that people get their theology from hymns and spiritual songs. And it’s important that hymns follow the New Testament pattern of prayer and worship, where we pray to the Father, through Jesus, through the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.

God was sometimes referred to as Father in the Old Testament, but it was rare. Then Jesus frequently spoke of his Father. And when we become Christians, we can call God our Father too. In a broader sense, God is the Father of all creation. But the New Testament teaches that we need to become children of God.

John 1:12
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

Romans 8:14-17
¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.^[f] And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

1 John 3:1
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”

The New Testament also speaks of children of the devil. It’s not that people are connected to the devil in the way that people can be connected to God. It’s more that they follow the devil’s example in choosing their own way and putting God out of the picture. And whether they realize it or not, the devil is probably influencing them and nudging them to do evil.

John 8:44
Jesus tells some of His opponents: “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.”

Acts 13:10
Paul rebukes Elymas the sorcerer: “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery.”

1 John 3:10
John contrasts believers and unbelievers: “This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.”

1 John 3:10 is particularly disturbing. Even after we come to Christ, we still sin. So, does that mean that we are not children of God? I think what John speaks of here is our overall policy. Are we choosing to put God out of the picture and follow our own instincts? This is precisely what the devil would want us to do. He’d count us as his children. But if we come to Christ, we won’t be perfect, but our policy is to do God’s will and align ourselves with God. The verse before brings that out:

1 John 3:9
⁹ No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.

Again, here John is speaking about our policy. He isn’t saying that Christians are going to be perfect in this world. In fact, he brings this out earlier in his epistle:

1 John 1:8
⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

I suppose you could think of a good father in the earthly sense. A good father will reprimand his children if they do wrong, but he will also love them. If you adopt a child, would you be considered a good parent, if you de-adopted them if they displeased you?

Here are some other hymns about God as our Father.