Father’s Day – Get Through It or Celebrate

There have been years that Father’s Day was a difficult day for me to “celebrate,” as in planning a party and embracing it with much laughter and all good memories. I tried very hard when I became a mother to make sure that my children always made their cards and plans on Father’s Day to be very personal so that their dad truly did know how much they loved and appreciated him. And it was in that personal mindset and with time spent with God that I found a new perspective on my life with my own dad.

If you go to a concordance, or go to biblegateway.com, and put “father” into the search window, you will find as I did, hundreds of Scriptures passages listed. The Bible has a huge thread of who Father God is and what He desires in a relationship with His children, which includes me! From a beginning in Genesis 2: 24, in which God says that a man should leave his father and mother, the family with whom he grew up, and become united to his wife, making his primary priority now: this new family. The Bible speaks about how God loves His children, disciplines His children, and all the facets of His family in which He is the Father. The last notation on “father” is Revelation 14:1 which tells me that we will have “father” written on our foreheads as recognition of whose we are and who loves us.

In doing this study, I found how often I fall short of God’s standard for being a parent. He does not condemn but continues to encourage me on to change and come closer to Him. The study that I originally did took about 14 months. It is so worth taking time to reflect and learn about our Father God. And as I learned about Him and myself, I also gained insight into my own dad, who overcame much from his own growing up, and truly wanted to be a good and loving father, just as I did; and fell short, just as I did. As each year passes the good memories are the ones I am remembering. That is what healing looks like!

So if you do not wake up on Father’s Day (or Mother’s Day) with all the joy and laughter that you seem to see on the faces of everyone, take some time and spend a few minutes with Father God. Listen to His words about what He wants for your life and how much He loves you right now.

And if I were doing a teaching today about “Father,” this is where I would start:

Jesus told a story about a child who turned away from his father in order to live his life his own way. When the child found out that his way left him without food, shelter or anyone who cared about him, he decided to come home.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.”      – Luke 12:20-24 (NIV)

My Father’s Eyes written and sung by Amy Grant