Father's Day '99
This is a exhortation to all the wonderful fathers out there, to all the struggling dads just getting by, and to all the fatherless sons and daughters as well. We have a Perfect Father, He is the Father of all. We also have the example of a Perfect Child. No father will ever be as perfect as our Heavenly Father and no child will ever be as perfect as His Son, our Lord. We do as best we can, and lean on GOD for the rest, it is all a father, or child, can do. But if we look to our examples, and earnestly seek GOD's counsel, He will guide us. And He will be a Father to our children, as He is to us.
Our Heavenly Father is with us from birth. He will never leave us, or forsake us. He loves us more than any human father ever can. It is He who created for us a world to live in, gave life to the winds and breath to our spirits. He has sculpted, out of nothingness, a universe full of wonder, and, from the dust, He has made us in His own image. It is He who formed us each in our mothers womb, nurturing us day by day throughout our lives.
In our earthly fathers, we get a fleeting glimpse of our Father in Heaven. i have had a wonderful life and still enjoy a wonderful relationship with my earthly father. Through him i have learned much, and for better or worse, i am what i am because of his guidance. i have found over the years that the old saying is true, as you age you become your father. i have often found myself using his mannerisms, saying what he would say, it's scary.
Of course, in my youth i didn't feel that way. i didn't want to be anything like him. i rebelled against his authority, asserted my individualism, and sought my own path. But then i grew up, had kids, and i became daddy. It's really not so bad. We learn as we mature that our fathers may not be perfect, but they are our fathers.
i have learned so much by being the "father" of my children. i never understood a fathers love until i held my own child. When i looked in his eyes, i at last understood Our Heavenly Fathers love for us. i had been a son, and understood the reverence a son can have for his father, but i never realized the depths of a fathers love. Not until i held my sons, and watched them grow. That has changed the way i see my Heavenly Father, and the way i perceive my earthly father as well. At long last the sheer power of our Lords statement (If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?) has brought understanding to my heart. If i can love my sons so much, how can i even imagine GOD's love for me?
My boys are 9 and 10 now, and the longer i struggle to be their earthly father, the more respect i have for my own father. And the more i try to exhibit unconditional love to them, and patience at their youthful behavior, the more i love our GOD. GOD has nurtured me, even when i tried to turn my back. He has suffered with me every step of the way. He has laughed and cried with me, even when i didn't even know He was there. My earthly father has been there as well, every step. In him i can see a shadow of our Heavenly Father. After so many years, i find i would like to be more like him someday.
Our Heavenly Father, and our earthly fathers, give themselves to us without measure. They do what they do because they are daddy. We cry and rebel, but in the end we know they were right. They seek our best good in all things, even when we are completely unappreciative of their efforts. Our earthly fathers, though lacking the perfection of our Heavenly Father, raise us with the full measure of grace they have been given. A father is more than just a man, a father is Love...
A father is
patient, he is kind. He does not envy, he does not boast, he is
not proud.
He is not rude, he is not self-seeking, he is not easily angered,
he keeps no record of wrongs.
A father does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres.
(1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Fathers Day Paraphrase)
That is a fathers love. GOD Bless them all. There is no higher calling.