God uses metaphors in the Bible to describe, in simple terms, how he relates to us personally.
We set ourselves up for disappointment if we expect him to embody every implicit nuance in these figures of speech.
Heavenly Father
For example, the Bible teaches that God becomes our heavenly father when we are spiritually reborn. As the Son of God, Jesus becomes our spiritual brother. In the same spiritual sense, other reborn believers likewise become our brothers and sisters.
We never stretch the concept of spiritual brotherhood to the point of expecting Jesus to share his childhood memories with us. We do not assume our spiritual siblings will send us birthday cards.
Similarly, we must be careful not to extend the concept of God’s spiritual fatherhood too far into the earthly realm. Such extensions can foster faulty expectations, whether our human father has been good or bad.
Good Dad Comparison
Good earthly fathers do everything they can to provide for and protect their children, but they never promise to shield their children from every affliction.
Likewise, God intends to bless us in the next life with abundance beyond our imagination, but he never promises a carefree life on earth.
Bad Dad Comparison
Some of us grew up with fathers who were harmful. They ignored or abused us, leaving us feeling unworthy of love. As a result, we now find it hard to trust God because we assume he is like them.
Suffice it to say that God is unlike the poor earthly fathers who neglect or traumatize their children. He is always present with us. He cherishes us more than the best earthly fathers could ever value their children.
Other Metaphors
The Bible also describes God as our friend, provider, rock, refuge, strength, warrior, fortress, deliverer, defender, sun, shield, shelter, shade, vine, healer, helper, hope, comforter, counselor, and shepherd.
Again, not every implication embedded in these terms holds in the physical realm.
For example, God never creates personal shade for us by physically blocking the sun. He never herds us like sheep.
Likewise, God does not always bless or protect us as we wish, contrary to what these figures of speech imply when taken literally.
God’s Promise
The divine metaphors in the Bible are the epilogue to God’s promise to come to our aid.
They describe our view of him after he helps us endure our afflictions, produces goodness from them, and resolves them as he deems best.
They assure us that the way he intends to fulfill his promise will eventually compel us to use these terms to chronicle his faithfulness.
We will marvel at his excellence as we look back and declare that he is truly…
- our provider
- our rock
- our refuge
- our strength
- our warrior
- our fortress
- our deliverer
- our defender
- our sun
- our shield
- our shelter
- our shade
- our vine
- our healer
- our helper
- our hope
- our comforter
- our counselor
- our shepherd
- our friend
- and our father.
