Father’s Day
Fathers are often taken for granted. We make a fuss over our mothers on Mothers’ Day, but on Father’s Day, fathers are often content to remain in the background. However a father’s influence directly affects a child’s’ and a family’s physical, emotional and spiritual well being. The best fathers are examples of their Heavenly Father’s love.
Many people in our culture have father wounds. People will tell you their stories of abuse, abandonment and neglect. However, the best dads leave a lasting legacy for their children. We all have stories about our dads. When we think of our fathers we need to remember and treasure our father’s love. Despite our father’s failures, we will learn over time to appreciate what they taught us through their strengths. Love covers a multitude of sins.
An old song “The Cat’s in the Cradle” reminds us dads how far we’ve fallen from what the world considers the ideal dad. We teach our children by our example. They say that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. The world will remind us that the worst sins are “sins of omission.” These are the things that we would have, could have and should have done for our children. In this life there has never been a perfect dad. However, according to 2 Peter 4:8, “And above all things have fervent charity (the love of God) among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.” Despite our faults and failures, our Heavenly Father’s love covers a multitude of sins. It’s reassuring to know that even though our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows all things. According to Romans 8, there is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus.
Many men are angry but can’t quite put their finger on the cause of their anger. At a pastor’s retreat one pastor said, the assignment was to make a list of all the people who have hurt you and have made you angry. Then write them a letter of forgiveness. The pastor said that he was in the middle of writing his second letter. His deep seated anger was miraculously lifted when he prayed, “God why have you allowed these people to do these hurtful things to me?” God answered, “They didn’t do these things to you. I did them to you.” Hebrews 12:6 says, “because the Lord disciplines the ones he loves and chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” The key to lifting anger is forgiveness. We forgive not for the other person but because the Lord’s Prayer says, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.” In forgiving we will understand the meaning of forgiveness. God forgave us, for in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. For he who was without sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him.
Grace is understood when we come to the revelation of the love of God. The story of the prodigal son is a story of grace. When the prodigal son returned home, his dad didn’t say, “you’ve disgraced the family and disrespected God and the honor of your family. You deserve to be stoned.” This would be the appropriate response according to the Old Testament Law. However, the law of the spirit of life in Christ has freed us from the Law of sin and death. The Forgiving Father ran to embrace his son even though he smelled like the pigs that he had lived with. He put a clean robe on his son and the family’s signet ring on his finger. The loving father forgave his prodigal son and restored him to an upright position.
God has called us to do the right thing from moment to moment. Even if we haven’t been the best father, we can with the wisdom from the word of God, “raise up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” God will show us by his example the meaning of the perfect father. He’s loving, merciful, gracious, righteous, and just. The example he teaches is that “Like as a father cherishes his children, so the Lord has mercy on them that fear, awe, love and respect him.”
According to 2 Corinthians 10:13, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer (allow) you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
Our Heavenly Father has called us as a “man of God.” A man of God wants to be just like his dad. A man of God is God’s man. May our prayer be, “Lord I’m not the man you meant for me to be. Please Lord make me that man.” Like the forgiving father who ran to meet his prodigal son, This is a prayer that God will run to answer.
This Father’s Day and every day,
May we ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael