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]
Whenever we play Yahtzee, my younger grands blow on the dice to ensure their good luck. Like Yahtzee, life often seems a game of chance where sometimes we’re lucky and sometimes we’re not. Luck, however, has nothing to do with it. For example, King Ahab seemed to have incredibly bad luck when a soldier randomly shot an arrow and accidently hit him right between the joints of his armor. In spite of appearances, however, that wasn’t because of Ahab’s bad luck. Before going into battle, God had pronounced the evil king’s doom through His prophet Micaiah.
Following the Parable of the Sower and the Soils, Jesus told another parable about the coming of the Kingdom. In the Parable of the Weeds, after the farmer plants wheat, his enemy sows weeds in the same field. Jesus’ hearers would have known the weed likely was darnel. Called wheat’s “evil twin,” it looks and behaves much like wheat. When wheat is consumed it gives life but, when darnel is consumed, this inedible look-alike causes nausea and even death. Sowing weeds in a field was an act of sabotage and Roman law specifically prohibited doing so with darnel. When nations went to war, agricultural vandalism was a common practice. Olive trees were cut down, grape vines destroyed, and fields were salted so nothing would grow.
Looking like a cross between a heron and an ibis, the limpkin (Aramus guarauna) is common along Florida’s fresh water canals, wetlands, and swamps. While they’re lovely to look at, they’re not lovely to hear. Often referred to as the wailing or crying bird, limpkins have a loud piercing “banshee” scream that usually is heard at night, dawn, and dusk. During courtship, a male limpkin makes repetitive long, loud, rattling calls while a female replies with slightly lower (but still disturbing) screams.
Easily missed in Chronicles’ nine chapters of genealogy is Jabez (whose name meant distress or sorrow). Described as more honorable than his brothers, Jabez prayed: “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” [4:9-10] The Chronicler tells us God granted Jabez’s request and the man whose name meant distress apparently had a trouble-free life!
Devotions of the Heart 