"fatherly, divine goodness"

A final phrase to consider:  "fatherly, divine goodness"

In a fallen world, there are good fathers and bad fathers.  Some people have a hard time calling God "the Father" because their own personal experiences with "Dads" has been bad.  It's hard for them to say these words without thinking of an abusive father they've had or known about.

But that is turning everything on its head.  

Human fathers are put in a position where they get to be very "godlike" to their children.    They are supposed to provide, defend, guard and protect - just like God does for us.  When human fathers are faithful to their responsibilities as fathers, they are acting like God (at least in part).  For this reason, we describe God in the best terms we have available:  God is the Father.

But it's backwards to say that He's the best Father of the bunch.  No.  He is THE Father.  All human fathers are sin-flawed copies of the original.  So when we talk about God's "fatherly goodness," we aren't saying, "He's like your Dad" or the "your best friend's father."  No.  We're saying that He's THE Provider, Defender, Guardian and Protector.