"You're a Good, Good Father. It's who You are... And I'm loved by you. It's who I am..."
Chris Tomlin sings these lyrics. We had the chance to ask him and fellow songwriter, Pat Barrett, more about it.
What drew you to the song and what does it mean to you as you sing it?
"My wife first showed this song. She was so moved by it and wanted me to hear it. Side note... She never does this, so I knew it must be special. The moment I heard the first chorus I felt this was something really special for the church worldwide. This was putting words to our deepest desire in our hearts to know we are loved by God and He is our perfect Father.
Being a dad of 2 little girls, this song is especially powerful because I understand a little more of what a Father's love is. If I know the love I have for my 2 daughters and that I would literally give my life for them, how much more the love of our Father God has for all His children."
What has your audience thought of the song as you've played it at shows?
"The response has been so big every time we have played it. I think that deep down everyone wants to believe that what this song is speaking is true... And
Good Good Father gives all of us a way to say it - that God truly loves us just as we are. That our ultimate identity is that we are loved by a good and perfect Father.
To me, the most amazing part of this song is that the initial idea and crux of it came from a guy, Tony Brown, who never knew his own father. Tony began singing it as a spontaneous prayer and song of worship... and later he and fellow band mate Pat Barrett formed it into what it is now."
The music video features both Chris and Pat playing alongside each other.
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Pat Barrett, the writer of the song, says the song should help us unlearn some of our negative thinking from past experiences.
What reminded you of the concept of God as a "Father" and what inspired you to write about it?
"We all have a picture of who we think God is. Maybe this idea of what God is like was given to you by your parents or your community. Perhaps a disappointment in life has even informed this picture of God at times. This song really came out of the Journey of learning to trust and believe that God truly is a Good Father.
When Jesus taught his disciples to pray he told them that they were to address God not as “God” but as “Father”. It was this picture of God that angered the “religious” people at the time (who held a different picture of God.) For one of the writers, this hits really close to home as he group up without an earthly Father. The only person he has ever called “Father” is God.
The invitation of Jesus at times is a call to unlearn some of the false ideas that have informed our view of God and trade them for the truth. Whatever our experience with our earthly Father (or lack thereof), whatever our ideas of God may be, whatever disappointments we may have experienced…Jesus invites us not only to know God, but to know God as a Good Father."
