A Father’s Reflection
As we enter into the "Father’s
Day" season, I have been pondering my role as a man (or as a father, daddy, father-in-law, grandfather,
godfathers, etc). What a change over the years! Three of my own children, 2
daughter-in-laws, my first grand-son to be born next month, I’m still learning
to be a father. And now with both my “fathers” in heaven, I am the senior man
with this awesome task. Without regard to our wishes, life is constantly
changing and we must change with it or be left behind, wondering what happened.
Does this reality strike fear in your heart if you are a man reading this?
So, where is the constant? On
what can we rely to be never-changing? “Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever,” (Hebrews 13:8). He is the rock where we can firmly stand, guiding
our decisions in this crazy, sinful world – especially when it comes to what
kind of fathers we should be. But how?
The basic question is what sort
of relationship do we have with our Heavenly Father? “Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These
commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on
your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the
road, when you lie down and when you get up,” (Deuteronomy 6:5-7).
So now we’re ready to be
fathers now, right? Not quite yet. Father, first, love your wife. “Husbands,
love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church,” (Ephesians 5:25). We’re building the foundation for fatherhood - LOVE. "Love
is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps
no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres." (I Corinthians 13: 4-7).
Now
we can get in the Word and find out how to be a father. “All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped
for every good work,” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). “Train a child in the way he should
go, and when he is old he will not turn from it,” (Proverbs 22:6).
Jesus told the parable of the
prodigal son as a way for us to understand God’s love for us. I also see a
human example of a father’s love. “…he ran to his son, threw his arms around
him and kissed him,” (Luke 15:20). Yeah, I know – different time, different
culture, different circumstances – yadda, yadda, yadda. Oh really? Do we show
this kind of love to our children or do we let our jobs, our hobbies, our
busyness, ourselves get in the way of acting on and demonstrating our love?
Shouldn’t our busyness be that
of fulfilling God’s plan for us? “Fathers, do not exasperate your children;
instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord,” (Ephesians
6:4). Don’t exasperate, does this mean that the only thing we do is play
with our children? I don’t think so. “My son, do not despise the LORD's
discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he
loves, as a father the son he delights in,” (Proverbs 3:11-12). Is this
another way of saying get involved with every part of your children’s lives?
Delights! “
A few weeks ago, I spent
several hours reviewing “old home movies” with our children. I could see a
“pretty good” father being patient, kind, and loving to my three children, but
I also saw some of the flaws. I learned a lot just watching myself. “There
you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the
way you went until you reached this place," (Deuteronomy 1:31). “As a
father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who
fear him;” (Psalm 103:13).
Put it all together and it
spells FATHER (Daddy in my Children’s translation). Does your life spell FATHER
or more importantly DADDY? Mine doesn’t always. When it doesn’t, I feel as if I
lack integrity for I let something get in the way of doing those things that I
am called by God to do. “I know, my God, that you test the heart and are
pleased with integrity ...” (1 Chronicles 29:17). Lord, I want to please you!
Give me the strength to be a FATHER among all the other things that I am! And
more than that Lord, Help me to remember what it means to be a DADDY!
As with all things, let’s hold
each other accountable. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another,”
(Proverbs 27:17). This means
everyone who is reading this.
I love being a
“Daddy” (and soon a “Grand-Daddy”)
Bring it on…so I
can Pass it on!
Pastor Garry
My father died early in my life, just as I was entering middle school. There were many difficult time for my mother and me after he was called home, but I remembered what he taught me. He taught me to read the Bible. He made me be fearless even when I was scared to death in a situation. God did not give us the spirit of fear and my earthly father wouldn't stand for it. I had to learn to fight! Stand up for what I believed in, find out what I believed in if there was doubt and not be afraid or ashamed to search for the truth. Take care of those I loved, protect them even though my personal safety may be in jeopardy. He said hold you head up high. Never mind what they call you. You know who and what you are. Do you best to live right before God and forget the rest. They are only people like you. They can only harm you when you let them. When you stand up to them most of the time they will cower and go away. He was right! For many of our situations, that is my mom and me, all it took was for one of us or both of us to stand together and the enemy with God's help would flee! Things are different now. The enemy has grown stronger and bolder and often times I find myself standing alone. But I've learned to lean on our heavenly Father in those times. He's a lot bigger and stronger than I. He's sees farther and knows so much more about what is really going on than I do. So, I pray and stand. It is written in Psalms 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God:I will be exalted among the heathen(that's us), I will be exalted in the earth." Heathen was a term given to all people not born a Jew or of the Jewish faith. I could live with that because God had made provisions for me to be adopted into his family. They could call me anything, as long as he called me His.
ReplyDeleteDear Pastor Garry:
ReplyDeleteTwo years ago my son became a father to his second daughter three days prior to Father’s day. Beautiful little Sarah Elaine was born three months too soon. My son would experience joy and suffering as he almost lost his wife and baby together due to spike in blood pressure causing little Sarah’s birth. His steadfastness and unmovable faith guided him every step as he struggled emotionally about two important girls in his life.
Five days prior to the unexpected birth I had mailed my son a Father’s Day card with a note telling him how proud I was to be called his mother because of the way he loved his wife and the example he showed his oldest daughter of how a loving and Godly man acts and cares for his family. He had grown so much spiritually it pleased me to tell him so and much more.
On Father’s day I received a call from him in tears over my expressions of love and joy to him. His reply was; “Thanks mom but your example of what it means to love and trust God has a lot to do with who I am.”
A mother’s reflection of a wonderful father, found in her son.
My father was not in my life very much at all. It was only on occasions that I get a visit. I always felt rejected when it came to my father. It was not until my pastor blessed me with a message from God, that although my father may not have been a part of my life it was no fault of my own...God had to get me here! I realize now that I have always had the only Father that really mattered. I can say without a doubt that becoming a child of God is the highest privilege and honor that I could have ever imagined. Because of it I have a new relationship with God and a new standing before Him. It is because of His grace that He deals with His children differently than He deals with the rest of the world. Being a child of God, means being adopted “through faith in Christ Jesus”, the One who is the source for our hope, the security of our future and He is the One giving us the motivation to “walk worthy of the calling with which you were called” (Ephesians 4:1). Being children of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords calls us to a higher standard, a much different way of life and a much greater hope. It would be my hope and belief that every loving father enjoys supplying the needs of His children. And is that not what our Heavenly Father does…He supplies all our needs. "And with all his abundant wealth through Christ Jesus, my God will supply all your needs" (Philippians 4:19). I am so grateful that, "Every good gift and every perfect present comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator" (James 1:17).
ReplyDeleteOur God, my Father, watches over me as His child and He watches day and night. Psalm 121:3 says, "He will not let you fall; your protector is always awake." Our Father in heaven hears and listens to us because we His children. “The Lord watches over the righteous and listens to their cries” (Psalm 34:15).
“My Father is the creator of the universe, the maker of heaven and earth, yet He knows me by name and I am unique and special to Him” (Psalm 121:2). What an awesome Father!!! And what a privilege it is, to be called a child of God.