A Fatherly Example

Fathers Day is our annual celebration of fathers.  We thank them for their example of what it means to be a man and a father.  For me it is easy to find a godly example of a man and a father, I need look no further than my own father.  He is by no means perfect, as no one is but he selflessly provided for, taught, guided, and loved his children when we were young.  Now he speaks into our lives as a trusted friend who never preaches but shares his advice based upon his life experiences when requested.

As I said, I have been blessed by having a great father and I fully realize that not all fathers have lived up to their high calling, but we have reached a point in our society where men and particularly fathers have become a joke.  If you look at how fathers are portrayed in the media and especially the entertainment industry, it is rarely in a favorable light.  More often we are shown as incompetent buffoons who are not to be trusted alone with their own children for fear that they will lose them or do something stupid like send them to church in their pajamas.

Sadly, even many of our churches have fallen into the same trap.  On Mothers Day, the sermons are a positive reflection of motherhood and how we should all revere and respect the mothers in our lives.  I am in no way trashing the moms or saying that we should not recognize them for all that they do to help raise our children, but the contrast of many Fathers Day sermons is pretty stark.  On Fathers Day, the theme turns into a sermon of what all of us fathers are doing wrong and how we need to do better at helping the mothers and raising our kids. 

Some of those that push the agenda against our fathers do so to highlight the important role that our mothers have played in our society, but do we have to denigrate the role of the father to elevate the mother?  In my opinion we do not.  Mothers are extremely important in each and every one of our lives, but at the same time so are our fathers. 

I want to impress upon you to take a few minutes this weekend to thank a father for their sacrifice and their love, but also be aware of the everyday temptations where our society belittles and dismisses the fathers in our lives.  We are not perfect, nor do we claim to be, but most of us will do anything for our wives and our children and we were taught by the example of our fathers before us.  So with that I simply say, thank you Dad, I love you for who you are and for whom you taught me to be.