I don’t actually have any pets, but we did have pets growing up. We had cats, dogs, rabbits, birds, and a little white mouse. I did own the little mouse and the rabbits. But when I reached 16, we visited a friend’s house and I was impressed with his tropical fish. So, soon after, I bought a second-hand tropical fish tank and populated it with fish over the next few years.
Dogs and cats are much friendlier of course, but tropical fish are low maintenance. What I liked best about them is that when I approached the tank to feed them, they would all get excited and leap about. I was quite fascinated by that because I’d often approach the tank just to observe them, and they wouldn’t acknowledge my presence. How did they know that I was about to feed them? I had a small package in my hand. Maybe they had learnt to recognize that.
And with fish, you wouldn’t feel much of sense of bereavement when one of them died. I sometimes use my fish as an illustration of our relationship with God. He is so far above us.
- Why doesn’t he just see us in the way that I see tropical fish?
- Why did He create us in such a way that we can reach out to Him?
Well, I can think of myself being pleased when the fish acknowledged my existence. But with God, the difference between Him and us is infinitely greater than the difference between me and my fish 😀. And fish don’t sin, so sin brings even more significant distance between us and God. Yet, He loved the word so much that He sent His one and only Son. Perhaps it would be irreverent to compare the incarnation of the Son of God with me becoming a fish – and becoming a fish knowing that I would be tortured and murdered by other fish. That makes everything even more astonishing.
Forget about fish for a moment and think of babies. I never cared much about babies until we had our own kids, who are now grown up. So, if I see little babies in supermarkets nowadays, I think that they’re delightful. Maybe it’s the fatherly instinct being triggered. And though God is far above us, if our love is somehow a pale imitation of what He feels, maybe we can understand what makes Him love us. And you can like all babies, but you particularly love your own.
Two metaphors are used in the New Testament in relation to us being God’s children – regeneration (being born again from above) and adoption. Here are a few verses related to this:
1 John 1:11-13
11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
1 Peter 1:23
23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word 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. 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.
The latter passage is where we get the term “Abba”, which is a term of intimacy between God and His children. It’s a little like the world “dad”. But who are His children? In one sense, everyone owes their existence to him, so he’s the father of humanity. But the New Testament emphasizes that you need to become His child. This is touched on throughout the New Testament. For example, here’s what Jesus said in a discussion with some hostile Pharisees.
John 8:42-44
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 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. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
It’s quite a shocking statement, yet, following the resurrection, many Pharisees and Jewish priests believed in Jesus and became God’s true children, including Saul of Tarsus, who became the Apostle Paul.
Here are some hymns about being children of God.
Hibernia Gospel 