Father's Day

As with most holidays, Father’s Day brings mixed emotions. For me it is an easy day to be thankful, I have an amazing father and my kids have an amazing dad, but I know that is not the case for everyone. For me it is a day to give thanks and a day to pray, to ask my Heavenly Father to fill in the gaps for so many for whom Father’s Day leaves a hole. Sometimes when Mother’s Day and Father’s Day roll around kids ask “What about a Kid’s Day?” to which most parents respond “Every day is Kids Day”, and it is. Still, I wonder as I sit with my Heavenly Father, couldn’t every day be a Father’s Day too? A day to celebrate the Heavenly Father, who loves us like no other. The Father who knows us, forgives us, protects us, delights in us. When you have a great Father you are free, free from doubt, worry and fear because He cares for you. When you have a great Father you are secure. You are loved, cherished, and provided for, the best of the best becomes yours.

As I have grown, my love for my earthly father has broadened because I grow in my understanding of the many ways he has sacrificed for me. My dependence on him however has diminished. Chances are I could outlive him and he knows this is necessary. As for my Heavenly Father, my dependence on Him actually increases as my love for Him broadens. My Heavenly Father knows I cannot live without Him, that His sacrifice in sending His only Son to atone for my sins is my only hope for life. As my love for my Heavenly Father is magnified, my understanding of my utter dependence upon Him is magnified as well, and vice versa.

Happy Father’s Day, to the Father who has called us through adoption, and has given His own Son to cover the cost of us becoming part of His family. If you do not know Him as Father, will you accept the invitation to become His child? The price has already been paid, it is yours for the taking. If you know Him as Father, how will you celebrate this Father’s Day? I hope with praise, a card written in your heart, a song lived as you breathe each breath. Like most fathers, your Heavenly Father will delight in your words not because of the flow or the rhyme or the wisdom, but because the words are from you. So lift up your eyes, and celebrate!

“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 (ESV)