Our Father
Today when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, let’s focus on Matthew 6:9b, “Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name.” There’s so many options of what to talk about here, but as we think of being with and becoming like Jesus, let us consider just those first two words, “Our Father.”
When we come to the Lord’s Prayer, we come as a community of people. This is our close friend community, community group community, our larger church community, and the community of all followers of Jesus. This is an important reminder that we are not praying alone, that we are not alone, and that God sent Jesus to the world for all people. So, maybe there’s an even larger community beyond the community of believers - when we say “Our Father” we’re recognizing who God is - the father of all.
And here, being with Jesus has another aspect - Jesus is counted among us as a brother who has come from the same father. He was in the world with us, He knew the same burdens, the same troubles, the same joys, the same sorrows. We can be with Jesus because He is with us. And in order for us to become more like Jesus, we have to recognize that same truth of who He is, who the Father is, and who we are.