Fatherhood

Fathers, it's your day!  This weekend, you are the center of attention.  You are God’s gift to your family.  You are the leader and teacher, the provider and protector.  God has honored you with a very important job.

Now I realize that reality is far from the ideal.  Some fathers have a difficult time carrying out their duties.  It’s hard to provide when you’re out of work. It’s hard to protect your kids when they lie about where they’re going or who they’re hanging out with. It’s hard to lead when your wife doesn’t respect you.  It’s hard to teach if you only have custody of the children on alternate weekends. 

No father is perfect.  Some guys, when they find out that their girlfriend is pregnant, take off instead of facing their responsibilities.  Some husbands fight with their wives so much that divorce seems like the only solution.  Some men are so wrapped up in their work that they never make time for their children.  Some fathers are abusive.

Because of these things, many fathers won’t feel much appreciation this weekend.  They won’t get to enjoy love or respect.  And this makes Satan happy.  You see, the devil doesn’t like fathers.  Satan wants them to fail in their God-given duties.  He doesn’t want men acting like leaders or teachers; he doesn’t want them to protect or provide for their families.  Satan wants fathers to be ignored or treated like trash.  The devil wants to strip men of everything that gives fatherhood its meaning.

The devil has been undermining families for a very long time.  It started in the Garden of Eden.  Adam was supposed to be the head of the family—it was his job to guard and teach and lead.  But when Satan spoke to Eve and tempted her to break God’s law, Adam did not tell him to shut up.  When Eve started to take a bite of the forbidden fruit, Adam did not snatch it from her hand.  When Eve suggested that he take a bite too, Adam did not remind his wife that God had promised death for disobedience.  As head of the family, Adam was a miserable failure. 

The mistakes did not end there.  Adam joined his wife in eating the forbidden fruit.  When God confronted him with his crime, Adam tried to shift the blame to his wife.  But worst of all was how Adam treated his Creator.  Instead of coming to God on bended knee begging forgiveness, Adam tried to hide from God among the trees of the garden.  Instead of showing God respect, He tried to blame God for setting him up! The woman you put here with me--she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it (Genesis 3:12). As a man, Adam was a miserable failure.

Eve sinned, yes, but Adam was the bigger failure.  Because of his behavior, the world was cursed—it takes hard work to earn a living, and every life is marked with suffering.  Nothing is easy, and death waits for us all.  In Psalm 90 Moses put it this way: The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow. 

When God created man, Adam received a soul that was in tune with His creator.  The first chapter of Genesis says, God created man in his own image.  But sin ruined that; when Adam fathered his children, our ancestors, the Bible says he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image (Genesis 5:3).  Adam was a man whose soul was blackened by sin; his children all inherited the same defect.  We are all cursed with sin as our birthright, and every father transmits this terrible flaw to his children.  Have you ever wondered why your kids seen to love getting into trouble?  They got that from you. 

Thankfully, there is one child who was born without inherited sin.  He did not receive the curse of sin from his father, because His Father is God.  I’m speaking, of course, about Jesus.  Jesus is the Son of Man by His human mother, but He is the Son of God by His Father in heaven. 

God our Father is the perfect father.  He is our wise leader and teacher, our unfailing provider and protector.  Fathers, if you want to know what your family duties are, look to Jesus’ Father for inspiration.

God the Father is our leader.  He establishes rules for us to live by—the Ten Commandments chief among them.  His rules tell us what things are important and what things should be avoided as distracting, wasteful, or dangerous.  Of greatest importance should be our relationship with God—treating Him with love and respect, making time with Him a top priority, submitting to His authority and eagerly carrying out His will.  Also important is our relationship with others: treating our parents with respect; avoiding hatred and violence; honoring our commitments, especially the commitment of marriage; respecting each others' property rights; avoiding all forms of dishonesty; and being content with what God has given us. 

God our Father is a strict disciplinarian; if we break His rules He will punish us.  He is also loving and merciful; if we ask to be forgiven, He will pardon us for our sins.  But God is also a teacher, and sometimes the most effective teaching comes through hardship.  Although He forgives us, God does not always bail us out of the situations we’ve put ourselves into.  Instead, He helps us to deal with the repercussions of our actions, making us more responsible in the long run.

God the Father is a generous provider.  He gave each of us life.  He has blessed us with family and friends, laughter and love, hugs and pleasant memories.  He has created beautiful things for us to look at, touch, listen to, feel, and taste.  He gives us everything necessary to live and love, to work and relax.  He often gives us much more, besides.

But our heavenly Father is careful not to spoil us.  We constantly point at things and cry, “I want that!”  But God does not give us everything we want, and He is wise to hold back.  Solomon understood this when he prayed, give me neither poverty nor riches, but just give me my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, `The LORD? Who’s that?'  Or I may become poor and steal, dishonoring the name of my God (Proverbs 30:8-9).  Our heavenly Father knows that gifts are no substitute for a strong personal relationship based on love and trust.

God the Father is also our protector, although we don’t make the job easy for Him.  He assigns angels to protect us from Satan and ourselves.  He fills our bodies with vitality to recover from injury and illness.  Sometimes He will go so far as to interrupt our plans to keep us from making a grave mistake.  But although He only has our best interests in mind, we often chafe at His presence.  Instead of staying safe in His arms, we go out and get into all sorts of mischief.  Some do risky things like drinking and driving.  Others experiment with drugs or sex.  Some are fascinated with violence; others spread pain through gossip, lies, or bigotry.  Such behaviors can result in lasting harm yet we do them anyway, heedless of the consequences.

Children can be a handful.  The bigger the family, the bigger the headaches.  Oftentimes, the eldest child helps mom and dad with the younger children.  The oldest brother looks out for his brothers and sisters, keeping them from harm and protecting them from bullies.  God our Father has a huge family—billions of children.  But He has help in dealing with us.  We have an elder brother who looks out for us and protects us.  His name is Jesus.

Of all the children ever born, only Jesus is sinless. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation (Colossians 1:15).  Jesus has what Adam lost; He is holy like His Father.  He was born to set right what Adam messed up.  God expects each of us to live perfect lives, holy in every way.  Because of Adam, we are incapable of perfection.  So Jesus did what we cannot—He lived a perfect life, honoring God’s law on our behalf.  Because we have broken God’s Law, we deserve His punishment in hell.  But like an elder brother, Jesus stepped forward to protect us—on the cross, He suffered God’s awful punishment for our sins.  Son of God and Son of Man; Jesus is the answer to the problem caused by sin—Adam’s sin, your sin, my sin.  Paul spoke of this in Romans chapter five: When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned…Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come.  But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.  And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.  For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.  Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.  Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.

This is good news for us all—especially fathers.  Your children are sinners because of you—your failures as a parent, and the inherited sin of Adam that you passed on to them.  But Jesus offers rescue from all that.  He forgives you for your failings; He forgives your children for their sins.  Like Adam, you and your kids are doomed to die, but Jesus brings the hope of eternal life.  In paradise, families will be reunited, never to be separated again.  There will be no fighting, no crying, no disappointment, no frustration.  Our elder brother suffered, died, and rose again to make this promise secure.

On this Father’s Day, I hope that you receive the respect and appreciation all fathers deserve.  If you don’t feel worthy of such treatment, take comfort in knowing that Jesus forgives your shortcomings.  If your family is not what it could be, then your job is clear—ask God to help you in carrying out your duties.  Be a leader who sets boundaries and enforces them.  Be a teacher who makes sure each child learns about the Savior.  Be a provider who does not spoil his kids, but lavishes them with love and attention.  Be a protector by praying for God’s help in keeping your family safe.  Even if your wife or kids don’t appreciate your efforts, remember that Jesus said My Father will honor the one who serves me (John 12:26).