And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. [2 Corinthians 6:18 (NLT)]
See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! [1 John 3:1 (NLT)]
I lost my first father the same year I gained my second one. I only had my birth father for twenty years, but I was blessed to have my father-in-law for thirty-seven! Dad J lived his life well—with vigor, enthusiasm, joy, laughter, and a whole lot of love. Compassionate and generous, responsible and helpful, good-humored and resourceful, he was a man of faith and integrity (with a large dose of mischief on the side). The Bible might describe him as a man after God’s heart.
Nineteen years ago, my father-in-law died as the result of a car accident. His severe injuries necessitated him being air-lifted to a distant trauma center and, by the time any family got there, he was gone. Initially, it troubled me that, in his final hours, Dad was alone in a strange place. There was no one to tell him that my mother-in-law (who’d been taken to another hospital) had survived the crash and there were no loved ones to hold his hand or pray with him. Then I realized that Dad was never alone; his Heavenly Father was right there with him, protecting, comforting, and leading him home.
If, at any point in his ninety-six years, Dad had been told that he had only one day left in which to live, I think he would have lived that last day in the same way he lived every other one. He had no regrets, no grudges, no scores to settle, and no debts to repay. There was no one to whom he owed an apology, no amends that had to be made, no deeds left undone, and no loving words left unsaid. He was an example of how life should be lived and an inspiration to us all. In the words of Will Rogers, Jr., “His heritage to his children wasn’t words or possessions, but an unspoken treasure, the treasure of his example as a man and a father.” Indeed, he was as close to an ideal husband and father that any mortal man could be. I enjoy the benefit of his example in my husband and our boys because there’s a beautiful bit of Dad J in them all.
For me, Father’s Day is a day of celebration and thanks because I was blessed by the fathers in my life. Sadly, not every earthly father is worthy of a place in the Dad’s Hall of Fame. While cars and washing machines come with instruction manuals, fatherhood doesn’t. It’s a learn-as-you-go role and even the best fathers make mistakes.
Nevertheless, we must never allow a dysfunctional relationship with our earthly fathers to distort our view of God, our Heavenly Father. Earthly fathers can be untrustworthy and deceitful, but God is faithful and never lies. Earthly fathers might withhold love, but God is love. Earthly fathers can be emotionally or physically absent, but God is every-present. Earthly fathers can be condemning, enraged, and bad-tempered, but God is forgiving, merciful, and patient. Earthly fathers can be brutal and harsh, but God is kind and compassionate. Earthly fathers may play favorites, but God has no favorites! Even the best earthly father is imperfect and temporary, but our heavenly Father is perfect and everlasting.
For those fathers who failed to live up to their roles, may we offer them the same grace and forgiveness our Heavenly Father offers us. Let us leave any bitterness behind and move forward into tomorrow with peace, courage, faith, and humility—confident in the knowledge that we are unconditionally loved by our Father in Heaven!
It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father. [Pope John XXIII]
Devotions of the Heart 