Fathers! Today is Father’s Day - I know some fathers have been a disappointment but please – today - honor the Father in Heaven. Here are some biblical thoughts about our heavenly Father. He is pained by our wanderings …but still loves us … expecting our return. He is a Father who does not wait for our rehearsed apology before He runs to welcome us. He’s a Father who never gives up on us … celebrating with His best and fatted calf to announce our return. The Father with limitless resources … who forgives and forgets our unpardonable wastefulness – our Father that defends us from the justified accusing positions of the older brother.
Our Father has always been a father of a second chance … a great forgiver, an awesome provider and a mighty deliverer. When He delivers …He does a complete job in giving His only son - Christ …making us complete in Him who said “It is finished” …what an awesome Father …still in the business of drawing souls back to Him …ultimately to join Him in His Heaven. Perhaps the ultimate attribute of God is His unending loving fatherhood. Does it surprise any that fatherhood is one of the most attacked of institutions? The fatherhood of families on earth has been targeted by the evil one … to obscure the greater reality of Fatherhood of God.
Let’s be real -being a dad today is tough! Actually I believe that there are more forces pulling at men and families today than ever before. Yea it’s tough - but we are up for the challenge. I look around the church and see really remarkable dads. Dads that are following the example of our forever Father who helps us to fine the right balance between giving discipline and giving grace. In the end, a father’s love for his child must remain unconditional in the same way our Heavenly Father’s love is unconditional toward His children. A father or mother may not even see the benefits of loving in this way until they see their child united with Christ for all of eternity. Here’s a word of scripture to encourage - Proverbs 14:26 “He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge.”