Submitted by Andy McIlvain.
As men, as fathers our model is God the Father.
A good Father is a miracle formed by God. No man has the necessary gifts, strength, and determination to love a woman and their children in a way that happily and selflessly sacrifices for their needs and consistently leads them to Christlikeness.
Many of us grew up with fathers that did not lead their children to God and his love; instead they thoughtlessly and selfishly provoked us to discouragement and anger.
So part of our call as Father’s is shepherding our family. No matter how much grace and wisdom we find in God’s word, every father (or mother) is subject to spiritual, emotional, and physical fatigue. It is in the midst of this struggle that God means for us to come to the end of ourselves on a daily basis so that we are prompted to rely totally on him by faith, prayer, and worship.
As Fathers we must make private worship at home a top priority, retreating from the difficulties of the world to enter consciously into the presence of God. We must make time at the beginning of each day to put God first in our thoughts and to acknowledge his unmerited grace and mercy for our lives. In his presence and through our representative Christ Jesus we must intercede on behalf of others (family, friends and community) by feeding on the faithfulness of God through the regular intake of his word. Such private prayer is answered by God and observed by our children and others in our sphere of influence.
We should also cultivate and express interest and joy in going to church and verbalize the grace of our God, who permits us to gather with fellow saints.
In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus taught his disciples to call God Father, “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name (Matthew 6:9).”
Our God who is active and completely sovereign in this world says to us all this Father’s Day, “I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty (2 Corinthians 6:18; cp. Galatians 4:4-6).”
This scripture tells us God has sent his Spirit to live in us and to remind you and me that we have a Father who loves us perfectly and endlessly, especially on Father’s Day.