God Himself, the Creator of heaven and earth, wants to have a personal, intimate, and meaningful relationship with you. My relationship with my father was nonexistent. As I’ve related, I was severely abused and belittled by my father until I left home at the age of 17. I truly lacked a close and meaningful connection with him. One thing I’ve learned over the years since I came to know Jesus as Lord of my life and can without reservation assure you is this: You are God’s child! He gave you life.

The Bible says in Ephesians 1:4–5: “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” You and I are alive today for no other reason than because God has a Good Father’s loving heart. He wanted to have a family, so He adopted you, implanted you into His family. For what purpose were you born? For fellowship with God; He wants to communicate with you, His child. I want to show you just a few of the things the Bible tells us about the Good Father that will help you begin to understand the heart of God and His shepherd’s love for you:

• Our Father shows unconditional love. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:8–10).
• He is integrity personified. “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19).
• He is compassionate. “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness” (Psalm 103:8).
• God has tremendous wisdom. “For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25).

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore” (Psalm 133:1-3).

Unity and harmony were non-existent in my childhood home. Neither my parents nor my siblings dwelt “together in unity.” Not until I later began to study the Word of God did I realize just how important these words are. In this Psalm, the writer paints a beautiful picture of unity in the anointing of Aaron, the high priest, brother of Moses. He pictures it being poured over Aaron’s head, flowing sweetly and smoothly, fragrantly down his face, through his beard, all the way to the hem of his priestly garments.

Why is that picture important? Unity is the glue that holds a family, a Church, a nation together. Psalm 133 extols the value of unity. The result of such harmony is a place where God’s people are refreshed and strengthened by His Spirit—just as the dew nourishes the dry ground! It is the place where God commands blessing and where His anointing flows! Vine’s Expository Dictionary records that the word together in Psalm 133:1 “emphasizes a plurality in unity. In some contexts, the connotation is on community in action.”

The Hebrew word for unity, yâchadh, in verse one means “oneness, concord;” it denotes a people drawn together for one purpose—to follow Jehovah, fulfill His plan and purpose, and to dwell together under the umbrella of His blessings.

Aaron wasn’t anointed with just any old oil…with whatever was handy. No, it was the holy anointing oil used only in Temple ceremonies. It consisted of four spices: myrrh, cinnamon, sweet cane (or sweet calamus), and cassia. They were mingled together with olive oil, which to the ancient Hebrews was enormously symbolic and useful. It was a balm, a soothing healing oil poured into wounds; it was fuel to keep lamps burning and provide light; it was a food, blended with grains and other foods to fill the hungry.

As the spices enfolded Aaron, it became a picture of yâchadh—oneness—of a group of very different people united in service to Jehovah. As the oil was infused with the spices, it became holy. None of the ingredients alone could make the anointing oil, but together they become a wonderful example of unity.  God has called us together “for such a time as this,” and I give thanks to Him for your love for His Chosen People and your singleness of purpose to stand in their defense.

Each Jewish family was instructed to keep the Passover, but because of the variation in size and resources, not every family was big enough to eat a whole lamb (nothing was allowed to be left over) and not everyone would be able to get a lamb. In those cases, God instructed Moses to tell the people to share what they had with their neighbors. “If a family is too small to eat a whole animal, let them share with another family in the neighborhood. Divide the animal according to the size of each family and how much they can eat” (Exodus 12:4, NLT).

As work progressed on the Friends of Zion Center (FOZC) in Jerusalem a few years ago, the team involved with the project determined that more space was needed to accommodate tour groups waiting to see the museum. Where that space could be found was a challenge. Behind the five-story building that houses the Friends of Zion Museum is a coffee shop that would be perfect for such use, but the owners had no desire to sell or lease the building. We needed miraculous favor with man in order to fulfill the need.

In its former life, the museum building had been a school complete with dorm rooms for students. Once the conversion began, it was determined that the furnishings would have to be sold or donated to empty the rooms. The decision was made to donate the beds, dressers, and other items to an organization that aided elderly Holocaust survivors in Israel.

The day came when a truck backed up to the door of the building and workers began to load the furnishings. One of the owners of the coffee shop saw the activity and asked what would happen to the fixtures. When he was told that they would be donated to Holocaust survivors, he was incredulous. We assured him that this was, indeed, true. It was the key to opening the door that eventually led to us being allowed to purchase the building. The generosity of the Friends of Zion team led to the miracle of favor with man that was so urgently needed to complete the multi-million-dollar project.

The Bible teaches us that God is looking for opportunities to demonstrate His love and power in our lives. Second Chronicles 16:9 says, “For 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.” When we demonstrate generosity in our dealings with others, God pours our His favor on our lives—and what we receive is beyond anything we can imagine.

This is one of the most important lessons we have learned through the years, both on a ministry and a personal level. The natural tendency for most people is to hoard, but God wants His children to have open hearts and open hands, and for us to do whatever we can to meet the needs of others. I encourage you to take this important step toward God’s favor on your life—and enjoying the favor that He gives us with others—by demonstrating radical generosity.

In just a few days, Jewish people around the world will be celebrating the Feast of Purim, remembering the amazing miracle deliverance God brought about in the days of Esther. Purim begins on the 14th day of the Hebrew month Adar. One of the central parts of the Purim observance is the reading of the book of Esther. This celebration should be a time for all of us to remember God’s deliverance in the past…and to pray for His continued deliverance in our day. Like Esther and Mordecai of old, we should boldly do what we can to defend His Chosen People, trusting in the God of Israel to hear and answer our prayers.

As I was thinking about this wonderful time of joy in God’s work of deliverance, I couldn’t help thinking about the extraordinary measure of God’s favor and blessing Esther received because of her obedience that transformed everything about her life.

This is the commanded blessing—the one described in Psalm 133 that covers every part of life—that comes when we bless God’s Chosen People. The blessing of God took Esther from an alien orphan girl all the way to the palace. The blessing of God protected Esther when she went before the king to plead for the lives of her people. The blessing of God equipped Esther to deliver her people from destruction.

My friend, there is nothing that will alter your life…and the future of your family, your children and grandchildren and the generations to come…like the commanded blessing. That blessing comes to those who stand up and speak out in defense and support of God’s Chosen People. Claim it today!