Things To Remember as Father's Day Approaches

Last week, we talked about life being sacred and its direct correlation with our unique position as God’s image bearers. This week, for Father’s Day, let’s look at a father’s role to love and protect his family as he follows the perfect example of our Heavenly Father. 

God’s Word is filled with clear direction for godly fathers including the instruction given in Deuteronomy 6:5-7, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” It is crucial for us as fathers to love God, to know His Word, and teach it to our children, in other words, be fully involved!

Jesus himself taught the importance of fathers who love, protect, and provide for their children, using God the Father as His example in Matthew 7:9-12, “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” This verse offers two clear instructions for fathers. The first is loving and caring for our children the way God loves and cares for us. The second is our responsibility to “do to others what you would have them do to you.” 

This week, as Father’s Day approaches, let’s not only remember our responsibility as fathers, but the heritage and blessing our children are to us, gifts from God, as Solomon proclaims in Psalm 127:3-5, “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.”