Devotional #121

Question 121. Why is it here added, “Which art in heaven”?

Answer: Lest we should form any earthly conceptions of God’s heavenly majesty (a), and that we may expect from his almighty power all things necessary for soul and body (b).

(a) Jeremiah 23:23-24: “Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.
Acts 17:24-25: The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
Acts 17:27: that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
(b) Romans 10:12: For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.

For your personal reflection:
We’re presented with a tension, aren’t we?  God reveals Himself as our “Father” – our “Abba” as Paul would write.  An imgage that speaks of intimacy, tenderness and accessiblity.  However, He is also “heavenly” – a Father in heaven .   Think of John in his island exile seeing the risen, majestic, terrifyingly glorious Christ – falling over in awe and fear (not the terror or fear of an unbeliever, but overcome by the perfection and majesty of his Lord).  Yes, God is Father - a heavenly Father - completely unlike any father we have known: accessible, yet holy; tender yet awesome.
Why both images?  Why a “Father in heaven?”  What is held in tension by this phrase?  Which image do you gravitate towards?  Why?  What might you need to learn from this conjoined understnding of a “Father in heaven?”