Father’s Day. “Father’s Day” is coming up soon on June 17. It is a time when “we remember Dad.” It is good to remember our fathers--both the good dads and those who failed to measure up to God’s call on their lives.
The Role of Dads. Some of us do not remember our father with warm thoughts. Others have very positive thoughts about their fathers. Sometimes our feelings about our parents have more to say about us, than about our fathers. Fathers (and mothers too) have the responsibility of bringing their children up to honor God and one another, to be useful members of society, to get along in our world. They have the responsibility to discipline their children. Our problem is, we do not like to be corrected.
The Role of Children.
Do you remember arguing with your father and that exasperated parent said, “Just do it!” Children, whether in the home or in school, must learn to obey, to follow directions, all for their own good. If a person learns that key lesson, there is success in life. If not, there is much sorrow and unhappiness. There is striving and strife and belligerence.
Learning from Dad. The father role is to teach. Learning to get along in a home, of course, is a task that is taught by both parents. If we do not get that from our parents, we learn something else. God our Father has revealed Himself through the Scriptures and has taught us how to honor Him, and in so doing has taught us how to honor and respect one another. The treachery we see in the world comes from our failure to learn from God our Father or from the father He has given us for our home (Malachi 2:10). Fathers who have embraced fellowship with our Heavenly Father have a joy in their lives which reveals God to us. Not all fathers know God or even know God fully, but those who do, have a gladness that spreads into their families and the lives of those families (John 8:56). Do you see how that gladness is conveyed through family discipline (Hebrews 12:9)? Family love comes through the learning of role and responsibility taught through the discipline we acquire in our home. That concept is to allow us to get along with others outside the home as well.
Understanding Our Heavenly Father. Yes, we have imperfect families. We have imperfect moms and dads and brothers and sisters. However, if we have that role of correction and discipline in the home, we will understand how God works in human life. And that brings joy (John 8:56). Happiness in life begins with a father and a mother who honor our Heavenly Father.
Honor. Father’s Day gives us time to put some things together in our thinking about our fathers. It is a great truism. As children we understand that fathers are not so smart. When we grow up and leave our parental family, we start to recognize that maybe dad was a little smarter than we thought. As we maneuver through life, by the time we get to its end, dad looks much smarter than we ever thought. We start to understand our father’s Maker and ours in new ways. We are amazed that the things we learned early and maybe some of things that we only learned later because we were stubborn and stiff-necked, reveal God to be much more loving and kind in our relationship to Him than we ever imagined. Perhaps this is why the Father’s love through His Son Jesus Christ, is such an amazing revelation.
~ Pastor Dave
“Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.”
~ Psalm 113:2,3
Things Aren’t Always As They Appear
A man was flying from Seattle to San Francisco. Unexpectedly, the plane stopped in Sacramento. The flight attendant explained that there would be a delay, and if the passengers wanted to get off the aircraft, the plane would reboard in 50 minutes.
Everybody got off the plane except one gentleman who was blind.
A passenger had noticed him as he walked by and could tell the gentleman was blind because his seeing eye dog lay quietly underneath the seats in front of him throughout the entire flight.
He could also tell the blind man had flown this very flight before because the pilot approached him and calling the blind man by name, said, “Keith, we’re in Sacramento for almost an hour. Would you like to get off and stretch your legs?”
The blind man replied, “No thanks, but maybe my dog would like to stretch his legs.”
Picture this: All the people in the gate area came to a complete standstill when they looked up and saw the PILOT walk off the plane with a seeing eye dog! The pilot was even wearing sunglasses! People scattered. They not only tried to change planes, but they were trying to change airlines!
Remember... things aren’t always as they appear, so keep the faith!
~Reflections
Following the Lord
with doubt in your mind
is like driving
with the brakes on.
