The Creed begins at the beginning- with God. God is beyond our comprehension. He has always existed. He is uncreated. He is immortal, all-wise, all-knowing, and ever-present. He is in complete control of every single thing in all of creation. He brought it into being, He sustains it, and He has determined when and how it will end. There is nothing too grand as to be beyond Him and nothing too small to escape His notice.
Christians have come to know this God as Father. This is not merely a warm, fuzzy title. It reflects our relationship. For at the core, our Faith is about relationship; it is about love. God is Father because He created us. He is Father because He has redeemed us. He is Father because He has adopted us. He is Father in that He knows we are children, utterly helpless without Him, and He provides for us all things necessary for our eternal life.
The story of our Faith is the story of how our Father brought us into being so that He could love us. God is love, and love needs someone to love. So we were created that God might love us, but also so that we might love Him. For love desires reciprocation.
In sinful folly, our first parents cut themselves off from this love. But God could not be outdone by human sinfulness or demonic cunning. Long before there was the need, He had provided a means of salvation. Seen in germ in the Old Testament, it came to fruition through the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Having provided a means of reconciliation, our Father now reaches out to us, beckoning us back home into His loving embrace. He is the creator of everything. No one knows better how it all works. He truly does know what's best for us. He is Almighty. He is stronger than everything and everyone. Nothing can thwart His plans. So nothing can keep us from Him if we really want to know Him.
This is our Faith, and this is our Father.
Today, many wander in endless confusion. How did it all start? Well, God made it. What is the meaning of my life? He wants to love you, and be loved by you. Where will it end? God hopes it ends with your eternal life.
To say one believes in God is to embrace all of these things. Even if you can't understand it all, or it's a struggle to believe, faith is to take God at His word, no matter what.
The first thing the Christian confesses is that God is Father. He says this not as much from intellectual certitude as he does from personal experience. He knows that once God was far away and an enemy of sorts. But now he belongs to God's family. He knows that there is one God who is the Father, the Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth.
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