One of our team members was talking to an atheist who said, “I just can’t accept a God who is Father.” His earthly dad had been so cruel that he couldn’t bring himself to see God as a good dad.

Although the challenge might not always be this intense, even a Catholic may have to wrestle with this from time to time.

Through Baptism we become adopted children. This means that God cares about us, but John Paul II tells us that it also comes with demands. We are fully dependent on Him, just as a child depends on his dad. And this kind of complete dependence can be hard or even a little frightening. 

It takes a lot of vulnerability and if we have been let down by our earthly relationships before, then it’s even harder. We can think to ourselves: “What if He doesn’t understand me? What if He doesn’t care about me? What if He abandons me?”. 

Our identity as children of God may pose different challenges for each one of us. The Father knows this and patiently waits for us. But because of our baptism, we have become transformed into Christ, so He says the same thing to us that He says to Jesus, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased“.