They told me You were perfect They told me You were light They told me every good thing Comes flowing from Your life They called You Father They called me Your child But somewhere in the telling The story changed its style Because love draws near But fear runs away And I've been trying to hold them both Since my earliest days If You're my Father Why am I afraid? Why does Your name feel different Than the love You gave? If perfect love casts fear away Why are we holding tight? To a picture of a Father That keeps His children terrified I was a father once For nineteen precious years And if my child had feared me It would have brought me tears I never wanted trembling I never wanted shame I only wanted closeness Whenever she called my name Because a child who's hurting Runs into loving arms Not away into the darkness Expecting further harm If You're my Father Why am I afraid? Why does Your name feel different Than the love You gave? If perfect love casts fear away Why are we holding tight? To a picture of a Father That keeps His children terrified What did we do? What could we do? To wound the Infinite? To threaten Love? To shake the Source? To make compassion quit? What child is powerful enough To make a Father hate? And if no answer comes Why are we still afraid? If You're my Father Then let me finally see The love that was beneath the fear The truth beneath belief And if Your heart is greater Than every story told Then maybe what we're seeking Was never fear at all They called Him Love. They called Him Light. They called Him Father. And somewhere along the way... We became afraid of the One We were trying to come home to.
