Happy Father’s Day

I started with that title, because all fathers are imperfect, not because we are mortal flesh or human, but because we never had a perfect example outside of Scripture.

The Bible does not have a simple instructional page on how to be a great dad.   The instructions are woven throughout the Bible and are many times based upon examples through relationships.  We are not, nor have been, a complete example of Father God, because we did not follow His example.

Dads, a kid is not of your making.  Oh yeah, I know that you provided the sperm.  That was such a hard task.  But you gave thousands of sperm, and you did not choose which one.  God did.  So it was God from the beginning that chose what child you would have.  Your wife did not select the specific egg that was used, either.  God did!  So, it was not the father nor the mother that created the child.  God wanted a son or a daughter; or in some cases, 2 or 3 sons or daughters.

I used to counsel a mother who had triplets.  When she came to see me, it was like a U-Haul had unloaded: one 3-seater baby carriage, 3 diaper bags, and an extra bag for bottles.  She was a little depressed over not being able to manage three children as well as one child, which was totally false expectations.

God places a child in a mother’s Crock-Pot, I mean womb.  He did not leave them there unsupervised.  He did His work forming, growing, and planning His plans and purpose in His designed child destined for His purpose (Psalm 139).  That purpose was for Him to love the child and the child to love Him back.  The day came, the timer went off, and out came God’s creation, God’s child, and God’s gift to you.

Now dads, you have the responsibility to raise God’s gift in the fear and admonition of God (Ephesians 6:1-3).  That means that you must respect God’s wishes ad follow His example.  Fathers, unlike mothers, do not exhibit a lot of emotion or feelings, but that is not the way God meant it to be.  I don’t mean that daddies have to sit around giving sweet coos, but it does mean affection, hugs, closeness, and saying in your heart, “That’s my kid.”

You do not know how to love your child until you know God’s love for yourself.  That love only comes through knowing Jesus, the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16).  Their relationship was so filled with love and respect, that when Jesus was on the cross at His darkest moment of pain from the physical torture and the emotional burden of the sins of the world, He cried, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit . . .” (Luke 23:46).  Jesus called Him, ‘Abba,’ meaning ‘Daddy.’  When you have invested enough love and kindness into your children, for them to lovingly call you “Daddy,” then you have achieved the daddy award.

I never knew my real father.  He abandoned me at birth.  My stepfather was all screwed up.  He never loved me nor told me so.  I was not a perfect father at all.  What I did that was good, I learned from God and Jesus in the Scriptures.  It took a long time for God to break through my rejection to trust that God loved me (1 John 4:19).  Then and only then could I love my children the way He loved me.

Stop being distant, cool, and non-affectionate to your children (Ephesians 6:4).  They are God’s gift to you.  Trust me.  If you love them, guide them, and respect them; they are going to be just what God expected (Proverbs 22:6).  And they will love you and respect you.

Remember from the womb to the tomb; God never leaves His children (Isaiah 41:10; Deuteronomy 31:6).  I have three wonderful sons, eight wonderful grandchildren, three wonderful daughters-in-love, special dear friends, a dynamic and loving wife, and most importantly a dear brother Jesus – all in God’s family.

Dads, trust Him to make you what He wants His son to be and what you really want to be.  Happy Father’s Day.

– Written by Pa

Meet the authors.
Listen to us discuss our blogs on our YouTube channel.

For this episode, Pa’s oldest grandson, Benjamin, joins him.