Tag Archives: Father’s Day

A Good Father Reflects God

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Fathers reflect God

I often start my prayer time with what we call “the Lord’s prayer” in Matthew 6:7-14. Doing so helps me keep on track rather than being so easily distracted. I use the phrases in the prayer as a launching point. When I pray for daily bread, I mention other needs of the day. When I pray for forgiveness, I ask God to search me and show me anything I need to confess to Him.

The prayer begins, “Our father in heaven.” I thank God for being my Father, for taking me into His family, for giving us that picture of a loving father to help us understand more what He is like.

When I was a child, I had an image in my mind of a father as a soft-spoken man in a cardigan, button-down shirt, slacks, and slippers, with a newspaper in one hand and a pipe in the other.

That’s not a picture of my own father.

For years I wondered where in the world that idea came from. I assumed it stuck with me from some book I had read as a child. I finally realized that portrayal came from Fred MacMurray, the father in the TV show, My Three Sons.

No father is perfect, and some fall far from the ideal. But the fact that we have good and bad concepts of what a father should be points us to the reality that there is such a thing as a good father. Our image of what a father’s care should be helps us form a concept of God’s loving care in our minds.

The Bible tells us what qualities God has as a father, mirrored in good earthly fathers.

Love. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are”(1 John 3:1). Romans 5:6-8 tells us that God loved us when we were weak, ungodly, and sinful. He didn’t wait for us to clean up our act before coming to Him: He invites us to let Him clean us up.

Teaching. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you” (Psalm 32:8). We’re not born with wisdom. God patiently teaches us through His Word, experience, and other people.

Compassion. “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:13-14). Some translations say He pities us. He knows our weaknesses and frailties.

Chastening. “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Hebrews 12:5-6). It’s not a kindness to let a child run amok without correction. God chastens us out of love.

Providing. “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:31-33). Just before these verses, Jesus points to the birds and flowers that God takes care of, assuring us He values us more than them and He’ll take care of us, too.

Giving. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). God has promised to give us everything we need. He often gives a great deal more than that, too.

Even more than physical gifts, God gave Himself, through His Son, to redeem us: “And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20b).

Protection. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler (Psalm 91:1-4).

Comfort. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). No one comforts like Him.

Forgiveness. What better picture of God’s forgiveness is there than that of the prodigal son’s father in Luke 15:11-32. The son selfishly demanded all that was coming to him and then went out and squandered it in sin and indulgence. But when he came to the end of himself and went home, the father was looking for him and joyfully ran to him and embraced him.

Though earthly fathers fail us, God never will. “For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the LORD will take me up” (Psalm 27:10). “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you” (Isaiah 49:15).

If your father is no longer living, or relationships with him are strained, “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary in a home” (Psalm 68:5-6a).

“And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God” (Galatians 4:6-7). “Abba” was the Aramaic word for “father,” a term expressing both respect and endearment.

Imagine, people as sinful and self-centered as we are can call God our Father–not just in a general way, but in a deeply personal and loving way. What amazing grace.

If you’re not a child of God, please read how to become one here.

And if you do know God as a Father, I hope you’ll join me in taking time to bask in His love and care today.

1 John 3:1

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Honoring Fathers

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Honor your father and mother. Exodus 20:12

It’s not easy to be a father.

TV comedies portray most fathers as bumbling fools.

Society argues about what is masculine or feminine and whether masculinity is “toxic.”

Pressures arise from different fronts: how to provide for the family yet have time to spend with them; deal with disciplinary issues; keep up home and yard maintenance; answer questions, guide children, and point them to God.

No father is perfect, of course. Some fathers are very far from it. Only God is all a Father should be. But the best fathers seek His help to try to show in some measure what He is like. Some have fatherly hearts and mentor others when they have no children of their own.

We don’t thank fathers and father figures nearly enough. Today we honor fathers, though most of them would be embarrassed and not want a fuss made.

Our thanks, O God, for fathers who follow in Your way,
And who, with glad and trusting hearts, exalt You ev’ry day.

Our thanks, O God, for fathers who show, by word and deed,
Commitment to Your will and plan, and Your commandments heed.

Our thanks, O God, for fathers who meet You oft in prayer,
And who, for all life’s toil and care, find strength and wisdom there.

How blessed are the children who in their fathers see
The tender Father-love of God, and find their way to Thee.

Author unknown

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Laudable Linkage

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Here are a few of the good reads found this week:

First Love. “As I watched all of this unfold, I also watched what being around this young man did for the members of our church and me. There is something contagious about being around someone with that first love. There were several things I noticed in this man’s life that gave me pause to consider my own spiritual life.”

Why You Should Name and Even Feel Negative Emotions, HT to Challies. “I rarely dealt with or named my emotions—at least not the “negative” ones. They had to be killed, banished, ignored, and stuffed. I learned this from both Christian circles (like the counselor above) and my own fears. I didn’t want others to see my emotions. Negative emotions always equaled sin and weakness in my mind, a reason for people to look down their noses at me. So I tried to kill my negative feelings with kindness—or gratitude. But what if there’s goodness in every emotion—even in the ones we don’t like so much?”

When the Story Doesn’t Have a Happy Ending, HT to Challies. “The ‘successful’ missionaries always have lots of numbers. They fill their newsletters with compelling stories and photographs of large groups of believers. But nobody gives presentations about evangelistic events where no one showed up, or posts a picture of the local pastor who abused his daughter, or writes a newsletter about the exciting convert who just slowly disappears.”

Tyranny Follows Where Truth Fades, HT to Challies. “Having escaped the tyrannical regime of North Korea, where criticism of ‘Dear Leader’ can land you (and your family) in a concentration camp, she never anticipated the thought control she’d find at this elite American university.”

Speaking Truth in Marital Conflict, HT to Challies. “We know that when couples use words like always, never, and only to describe each other’s behavior or to express a complaint, it will not help to resolve their conflict. These words exaggerate and overgeneralize in a way that provokes a spouse to defensiveness. Instead of considering and talking about their spouse’s concern, an accused spouse will be tempted to prove that they are not always guilty of this or that behavior.”

What “Leah’s Eyes Were Weak” Means—and What It Says About Bible Interpretation, HT to Challies. Admittedly, the state of Leah’s eyes doesn’t affect any major doctrine. Our opinions about what the statement about her eyes in Scripture means is not a hill to die on. But I appreciate the process Mark Ward takes us through when a passage of Scripture isn’t clear and even commentators disagree.

How Can I Be a Good Father When Mine Walked Out?

How Making an If/Then List Can help Your Mental Health, HT to Linda. “Recently, while going through the grief of a loss and all the emotional turmoil that can entail, I made myself an ‘if/then list.’ I thought through what helps—really helps—me in any given mood or symptom, and then made myself a list with easy, actionable steps to take if I found myself in any of those situations.”

This is as good a time as any for my occasional reminder that linking to a post does not mean full endorsement of everything about that site. If a friend’s link sends me to a site I’ve never visited before, and I consider sharing the post, I’ll look at the “about” section to have some idea where the person is coming from. I wouldn’t share something I have strong reservations about without some caveats, but obviously I don’t know everything about a site when I’ve just read one post there. And we often have some disagreements even with our dearest friends. We need to be discerning in all we read.

I watched a program last night in which what I would consider to be normal father-son love and support brought a couple of people to tears. I wondered if seeing such interaction was so rare in the world that it brought forth such an emotion. Maybe these folks didn’t have that fatherly support–or maybe they did, and the memory brought tears. At any rate, I very much agree with the statement below. Happy Father’s Day tomorrow to the dads out there. Keep up the good work. It’s vital.

Laudable Linkage

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A collection of good reading online

I’m a little behind on my blog-reading, but here’s a collection of good reads from this week. Some are just in time for Father’s Day.

My 10 Favorite Attributes of God as Father. “Regardless of our earthly-father experience, God as Father, rises above any father definitions we write into our stories. He is Abba Father.”

I Am My Father’s Son (Hope for Failing Dads on Father’s Day). “I know he is anxious about this conversation. I know he is fearful of his accountability of the past. He is well aware of his sins and his demons and his neglect of those he should have loved.”

Honoring Your Father When He’s Evil, HT to Challies. “In our family, I was taught to honor my father and mother, forgive others, and not gossip, but homes warped by abuse have their own language. ‘Forgive’ meant pretend you’re happy, even when you’re covered in bruises. ‘Honor your father’ meant obey him, even when you’re terrified he might kill you. And we were repeatedly warned not to ‘gossip,’ which meant telling anyone the truth.”

A Good Friday Ride, HT to Challies. “It occurred to me to marvel that we’d meet a Muslim man on Good Friday and have him evangelize to us rather than the other way around. And it also occurred to me to pray—even if just for an instant—for this fellow image-bearer of God who would so excitedly and passionately share his faith with us.”

The Good Commission, HT to Challies. “I would trade every kid who takes a mission trip to change the world for one who would stay home and clean his room, treat his brother like a human being and help mom around the house without being asked twice. Changing the world is easy, the latter is harder and far more Christlike.”

Fighting Atrophy, HT to Challies. “Just like our muscles atrophy and weaken through lack of use so our spiritual muscles atrophy though lack of use. The question as things reopen is will we put the work in to develop and grow those muscles that have atrophied in recent months?”

Dealing with Criticism: 7 Truths to Remember, HT to Lisa. “No one likes criticism, but it’s an inevitable and valuable part of life. Here are some truths to deal with criticism next time you’re so fortunate to receive it.”

Happy Saturday, and I hope you have a great Father’s Day tomorrow.

Father’s Day Cards

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I thought I’d show you the cards I made for this last Father’s Day.

This was for my step-father, adapted from an idea seen on Pinterest.

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I love that it’s simple but still makes for a nice design. The buttons were made on the Cricut machine. I toyed with using real buttons and thread, but I was afraid they might fall off in transit.

This was for my son. My grandson likes super-heroes, so I thought it was fitting for a super-dad. 🙂

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This was from one of the Cricut Design Space’s “Make It and Take It” cards, but I tweaked it a bit from what they had – they didn’t have the “Super” at the top, and their whole card was the size of the blue frame.

For my husband, I wanted something to do with grilling, so I searched the Cricut Design Space’s files for “grill.” Both this grill and the little man showed up, so I used both of them. The design kind of evolved as I worked. I cut little snippets with scissors in the “grass” so it would look like grass blades. I started to stick the figures in the grass, but we grill on our patio, so I used the textured-looking grey paper for the patio. I was going to put “Well done” at the top (a play on the idea of well-done food and well-done fathering), then decided I would put that in a cloud. I had everything centered in the middle but thought the cloud looked odd centered right over the figures as if it was about to rain on them. So I moved it to the side and added another for balance, cutting them both out freehand (I had typed the “Well Done” and printed it on cardstock, along with the inside sentiments of the cards). Then the bottom corners looked like they needed something, so I looked up flowerpots. This flower design actually had a couple of other layers on the flowers and leaves, but they were so tiny they didn’t come out well. I decided the flowers looked ok as is.

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That was it for this time. I think everyone liked their cards. 🙂

(Sharing with Made By You Monday)

Honoring the Fathers In My Life

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My father passed away several years ago, but I want to honor his memory. He did not come to know the Lord until 6 years before he died, and though he had a lot of problems, I honor the position the Lord gave him as my father. He did love me in his own way and tried to do right as he knew it. One of the major things he taught me was to have respect for those in authority.

I want to honor my step-father. I honestly had problems with the idea of a step-father having any say in my activities when I was 15.   I have written here and there that after I became a Christian, God had to teach me that honoring and obeying my parents was a matter of obedience to Him regardless of whether they were Christians or were doing what I thought best. After that I wondered how a step-father fit into the picture. Then one day I realized that Jesus had a step-father — Joseph. The Bible says Jesus was subject to both Mary and Joseph, even when they didn’t understand him (Luke 2:50-51). Over the years I have come to greatly respect my step-father as a steady, dependable man who cares for his family, is an extremely hard worker, and would do anything in the world to help those he cares about.

I wrote earlier about my “spiritual mom,” Mrs. C,  and the godly influence she was in my life. Mr. C was a shining example of a Christian father to me, and I am so glad the Lord brought them into my life.

I honor my husband as a caring, thoughtful, sweet, fun, loving companion and father to our boys.

And I honor my heavenly Father who gave me life, loves me dearly, brought me to a saving belief in Christ, speaks to me through His Word, shows me His love and care in a hundreds of ways every day.

Here are a few other Father’s Day posts from the archives:

Dad’s Famous Sayings

Favorite Father’s Day poems here and here

Jokes for Father’s Day

Favorite quotes about fathers

Fathers and sons, good and bad

Paul Harvey on Fathers

A couple of memes about dads

From Rob at ivman, a job decription for dads that is both funny and poignant.

Only a Dad

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Only a Dad

By Edgar Albert Guest

Only a dad with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame
To show how well he has played the game;
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come and to hear his voice.

Only a dad with a brood of four,
One of ten million men or more
Plodding along in the daily strife,
Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate,
For the sake of those who at home await.

Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,
Merely one of the surging crowd,
Toiling, striving from day to day,
Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent whenever the harsh condemn,
And bearing it all for the love of them.

Only a dad but he gives his all,
To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing with courage stern and grim
The deeds that his father did for him.
This is the line that for him I pen:
Only a dad, but the best of men.