✝️ Psalm 103:13 | The Father's Face

Happy Thursday, {{first_name | everyone}}!

We've called God a Father all week. The question is, how do we know he's actually like this?

Today, let’s answer that question.

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Psalm 103:13

Throughout the week, we’ve seen compassion (racham) be the consistent character trait ascribed to God by Himself (Exodus 34:6) and by other Old Testament writers like David, Jonah, Nehemiah and Joel.

Today, we’re looking at the gospels.

The Greek word the Gospel writers use for compassion is splanchnizomai (pronounced SPLANGKH-nee-zoh-my).

Think of it like the Greek version of racham. And a well-known place Jesus uses it is a famous story he tells about a father.

Here’s the gist..

A son demands his inheritance early, which was a request that was deeply dishonoring, treating the father as though he were as good as dead.

The son takes the money, burns through all of it, and ends up feeding pigs and envying their food. Then he turns for home, ready to apologize.

And remember who's telling this story. It's Jesus, describing his own Father's heart.

Two more threads to connect here:

First, Jesus said "whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). Every time he reached for a leper or wept at a grave, he was showing us in real time what Psalm 103:13 described in poetry.

Second, the cross is where his compassion cost him everything. Psalm 103:10 says God "does not deal with us according to our sins."

But that begs the question: how can a holy and righteous God can possibly do that? A good judge can’t just let guilty people free.

The answer? Jesus stepped in and took what our sins deserved on the cross.

God took our punishment upon Himself and instead of banishing us from His presence, He runs towards us the way that father ran towards his prodigal son.

Paul says in his letter to the Roman church:

Jesus, through his sacrificial death and resurrection, brought those of us who put our faith in Christ into the family of God.

So when you say Psalm 103:13, let it be a reminder that He is your Father, and you are his child.

This past Father's Day weekend my son Arlo gave me a card and a hug, and I felt like the luckiest dad alive. I want to tell you that I always meet him with the compassion this verse describes…

But I don't.

A few weeks back, our normal rhythm fell apart at bedtime. The routine he knows by heart (chores then homework then outside time then his game), had gone sideways, and he melted down over something small.

Admittedly, my first move wasn't to move towards him. It was to recite the rules. "You knew the deal." I led with the ledger instead of the love.

I went back in later while he got in bed and apologized.

If even our best earthly love needs repentance, how much more precious is the perfect compassion of God?

Let your need drive you toward Him today, not away from Him, because in Christ the Father receives you with tender love.

🙏 Pray

Jesus, thank you for showing me the Father. You didn't only describe his compassion. You carried it down the road and all the way to the cross, so that someone like me could be called a child of God. On the days I relate to the Father like a nervous employee, remind me I've been adopted. Teach me to cry "Abba." I'm yours. Amen.

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Today’s lesson meshed perfectly with a conversation my wife and I had tonight. We needed to remember God’s steadfastness to His promises and hold on to them, thus giving us strength to hold onto hope. Hope that only comes through Him. I’m sending today’s lesson to her.

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As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.

Psalm 103:13