A Loving, Watchful Father

Feature 2 – June 2024 – Grace & Truth Magazine

A Loving, Watchful Father

If you attended an English-speaking Sunday School in the 1940’s or later, there is a good chance you might have sung the song “Oh, Be Careful, Little Eyes, What You See.” This children’s song is simple but direct. The lyrics remind us that little ears, hands, feet, minds and hearts all need to be careful!

Younger children especially love singing these words while pointing to their eyes, ears and so on. But the recurring theme in each verse of the song emphasizes the main point: “The Father up above is looking down in love.” There is a reason we should be careful about what our eyes see, what our ears hear, and what our minds think. It is because God our Father is watching. He is looking down in love, and nothing escapes His notice. Although the author of this children’s chorus is unknown, these poetic Sunday School truths are very appropriate for Christians of every age.

The Father Up Above
We can first appreciate the statement that God indeed is a Father. In a limited sense, all human beings are “the offspring of God” (Acts 17:29 NKJV), but the New Testament doctrine of God as a Father goes far beyond that. Through faith we who know the God of the Bible are invited to trust Him completely. He is a perfect Father – One who loves us, cares for us, disciplines us and provides for our needs. As His children we also have the privilege of displaying His character. For example, if we show mercy and grace to those who trouble us, we are behaving the way our Father does (Mt. 5:43-45).

The gospel of Matthew especially emphasizes that God is a Father “up above” – a Father who is in heaven. In fact, heaven is an important general theme of Matthew’s writing. There are at least 75 references in his gospel to various aspects of heaven – more than twice as many as in any other gospel. This is in keeping with Matthew’s perspective of heaven’s rule and influence upon the earth, emphasized in many statements about “the kingdom of heaven,” a phrase found more than 30 times in Matthew’s gospel and nowhere else.

Therefore we are not surprised to find in Matthew references about God as our Father in heaven. The good works of the Lord’s disciples should lead others to “glorify [our] Father in heaven” (5:16). As our Father in heaven, He rewards what is done for Him (6:1), gives good things to His children (7:11), and answers our prayers (18:19). It was the “Father who is in heaven” who gave a divine revelation to Simon Peter about Christ (16:17).

It is possible for us to misunderstand the phrase “heavenly Father” by thinking it means He is merely a distant Father; but that is not the point of the phrase. As heavenly Father, He is of a completely different character than our fathers on earth. He has a heavenly vantage point from which He observes and intervenes in our circumstances. He has more strength, greater wisdom and deeper love than we could ever experience from anyone else. He is not bound by earthly limitations, yet He is extremely attentive to the smallest details of our experience here. The Lord Jesus taught that our heavenly Father cares even for sparrows and lilies, so we can be certain that He cares very tenderly for us (6:26-33).

The Lord further revealed the Father to us in some uniquely beautiful ways. The relationship of Father and Son displayed this amazing character. For instance, in John 13:1 we read: “Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father.” We might have expected that the verse would say Jesus was going to depart from this world and return to heaven – and, of course, that is where He was going. His desire, though, was not to go simply to a place but to the person; He was going to the Father. This is emphasized in John 13–17 (for example, see John 14:12, 17:11 and other verses in those chapters).

This fact helps us think correctly about heaven. It’s not that heaven is simply some wonderful, joyful place that also happens to be where God lives. Rather, the truth is that God as Father can be found in heaven; and because He is there, heaven is a place of joy. For Christians, we are not simply going to heaven; we are going to the Father’s house (14:2).

A further point was very significantly expressed by the Lord on the day of His resurrection. “I have not yet ascended to My Father,” He told Mary Magdalene. Then He added, “But go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God’” (20:17). In the Christian era, in these days when we have a resurrected Savior, our relationship with God as our Father has an even deeper character: fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (1 Jn. 1:3). This goes beyond trusting in the Father’s care. Through Christ we actually share the Father’s joys and enter into His thoughts. God is, as the song points out, our “Father up above,” but we enjoy a wonderful, close, intimate relationship with Him already now.

Looking Down In Love
The children’s song about “little eyes” continues its lyrics this way: “The Father up above is looking down in love.” This is an important detail. If we only focused on the Father watching us from above we might be inclined to wonder about His motives. After all, since nothing escapes His notice, what are His thoughts and intentions when He sees us? We know about God’s perfection, and we know about our failures! We have surely given Him enough reasons to be angry with us or, at the very least, disappointed in us.

In the Old Testament there were indeed times when God’s searching eyes lingered on the failures of His people. For instance, a king of Judah named Asa once sought help from the ungodly king of Syria rather than seeking the Lord. In response, God sent the prophet Hanani, who declared: “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly” (2 Chr. 16:9). In this case, when God looked down, He perceived Asa’s unfaithful heart, and judgment ensued.

As we learn from this example, God’s perfectly righteous ways should certainly not be minimized. But there is something new about our relationship with God in the New Testament. Because of Christ, we know not only God’s character of righteousness but also His character of love. The Lord Jesus told His disciples, “The Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God” (Jn. 16:27). Notice that the Father’s love for us is based upon the fact that we have trusted in Christ. The verse does not say, “The Father loves you because you have been faithful disciples,” “because you have preached the gospel” or “because you know a lot of truth.” We love the One whom the Father loves, and therefore He also loves us.

There is nothing we can do to make the Father love us more. In addition, there is nothing we can do to make the Father love us less! He loves us because of Christ, the One who never changes. This truth will keep our feet on solid ground in our relationship with God as our Father. If ever we feel that God might set us aside, let us remember that “perfect love casts out fear” (1 Jn. 4:18). God the Father loves us perfectly, and that kind of love will displace any fear that might question whether our relationship with Him has somehow been discontinued.

So Be Careful
The final line of the children’s song gives a touching but pointed reminder: “So be careful, little eyes, what you see.” We know God as our Father, the One who looks down in love; yet there remains the fact that we have a responsibility to live out the truth of that relationship. First Peter 1:17 tells us, “If you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear.” This fear does not imply that we are no longer living in the atmosphere of love – far from it! But in that atmosphere we dare not bring a stain upon the name of the Father who loves us.

Although He loves us, this verse says the Father is an impartial assessor of our works. Notice that He does not judge us for our works. That judgment has already been settled by the work of Christ. In fact, the text in 1 Peter 1 does not even say the Father judges us at all. The statement is simply made that the Father judges according to our works. Such an expression means that He plainly assesses the works themselves. He makes clear where His pathway is and lets us know whether our actions might have strayed from that path. Because He is a loving Father, He does not show favoritism or partiality; nevertheless, He faithfully and accurately evaluates our thoughts, words and deeds.

As we think about this line of that children’s song we might say, “How can I be careful? I can’t help what my ‘little eyes’ see or what my ‘little ears’ hear. Bad influences are all around me!” To a certain extent, this is true. The question, though, is not about the matters we cannot control but about the matters we can. What things do we look at twice? What conversations, podcasts or music do we intentionally listen to? Further, how do we allow such things to affect our hearts? The Lord made clear in His teachings and parables that this is the real issue.

Therefore, as Father, God disciplines us, which means that He trains us for profitable spiritual living. The passage in Hebrews 12:5-13 gives helpful teaching about this. God’s discipline as “the Father of spirits” (v.9) is proof that we are part of His family. Our earthly fathers disciplined us according to their own wisdom, and that discipline may have been inconsistent or even ineffective. But if we respond to God the Father’s discipline, there are some amazing outcomes.

First, according to verse 9, we will live! At a basic level God’s discipline keeps us on the path of spiritual life and vigor. Second, we will be partakers of His holiness (v.10). This means we will share in His holy character, living separated from anything that is spiritually detrimental. And third, God’s discipline “yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (v.11). Doing what is right always leads to peaceful outcomes, and God’s training has that kind of peaceful Christian life in mind for each one of us.

The Father Of Lights
Despite these encouraging thoughts about God as a watchful, loving Father, many Christians have struggled to have confidence in their relationship with Him. In prayer we often, even subconsciously, transfer experiences with our earthly fathers into our relationship with God as our Father. This can lead to difficulties, for even the best human fathers have their weaknesses. And if our earthly fathers were demanding or impatient or even abusive, this might make us think that God is a harsh Father as well. Or maybe our earthly fathers were disinterested in our lives, giving us no boundaries or guidance, and therefore we believe God doesn’t care about our lifestyle choices, either.

If this is your experience, it’s not too late to start thinking differently about God the Father. Perhaps you need to be reintroduced to Him! As you read about Him in the Bible, let Him tell you what He is really like. Learn about His love, His faithfulness, His compassion and His wisdom. Trust the outcomes of His corrective discipline and embrace the path He sets before you. He is a good Father! James 1:17 calls Him “the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” He is not like your earthly father. He is perfect, gives perfect gifts, and will never stop caring for you.

By Stephen Campbell