If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him. (Matthew 7:11, ESV)
It’s June! Don’t you just love it? The days are long so we usually have plenty of time for that extra 9 before dark. June is US Open month, too. It is always fun to watch the pros try to figure out the setup on some of our country’s most prestigious courses. And doesn’t everyone enjoy watching the winner embrace his father and children on the 18th green after he holes the last putt to win that iconic trophy?
This year, Father’s Day is June 19th. I especially like Father’s Day because I had a very good father. He died in 1984 at the age of 68 after struggling with leukemia for many years. I miss my father a lot and thank God for choosing him as my earthly dad.
My earthly father taught me a lot about life by the way he lived each day. Especially toward the end of his life, I witnessed the kindness, generosity, and integrity that shaped his everyday thinking. He cared for and loved his family. My father also instilled a love for the traditions that are still part of the great game of golf.
I am also an earthly father. Barbara and I have six children and nine grandchildren between us. (We were both widowed in 2010.) I love them all. But over the years, my love for them has been imperfect. My discipline was imperfect. I realize I am flawed in so many ways.
What about you? Did you have a good father, a bad father, or perhaps no father present in your home when you were growing up? Many of the folks in our Links Fellowships did indeed have good earthly fathers, and we talk about our experiences from time to time. But sadly, many certainly did not. For a variety of reasons, the idea of honoring our earthly fathers is foreign to several people with whom I talk.
But the good news of the gospel tells us that none of us need to be left fatherless, whether by death, abandonment, or neglect.
Maybe you are one of those who did not have the blessing of a good earthly father. If you are, look at what the Bible tells us: “And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:18, ESV)
The gospel gives us further assurance that none of us need to be left fatherless, whether by death, abandonment, or neglect. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:12, ESV)
This Father’s Day, one thing we can all do is celebrate and honor our great, powerful, and loving Heavenly Father. Our Heavenly Father is 100% good! He has done marvelous things for us. God’s love for each of us is perfect! His love brings the kind of peace we witness when a child is totally safe and secure in his father’s arms. It is the kind of peace we have always longed for. That kind of peace is a gift from our Heavenly Father and available to us all. Hallelujah!
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you and honor you for the gift of life through our earthly fathers. Even more, we praise you for the gift of eternal life through your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.