Fathers are never far from the headlines, from controversies around teenage fathers to reports on how good fathers have such a positive influence on the development of their children. All this coverage shows that we instinctively recognise the importance of fathers to us individually and to society as a whole. So we shouldn’t be surprised that this emphasis on, and honouring of, good fatherhood is a reflection of the way in which God deals with the human race.
I have always believed in my head that God loves me unconditionally but it was only when I became a father myself that I began to understand it with my heart. From the moment when I first set eyes on my first child, now aged ten, my love for her was so immediate and strong that I would have done anything to protect her – and still would. And that set me wondering about the love of God: if I, with all my faults, could love like that, then maybe I could understand in a new way how it is possible for God to love me like this.