Affectionate Father

Psalm 103:13 (ESV)

As a father shows compassion to his children,

    so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

Am I an affectionate father? Like the geyser “Old Faithful,” do I spontaneously spew out love and affection on my children? Am I faithful to fill my son or daughter’s emotional tank with a warm embrace or a kiss on the head? Or am I so caught up in my own career and needs that I have no emotional capacity to give affection? Affection must be displayed.

A father with affection reflects his heavenly Father’s affection for him. It is out of an overflow of being comforted and loved by Christ that redeemed fathers show affection to their children. When the Holy Spirit gives us a warm and secure hug, we can’t help but hug our children and grandchildren. Eternal affection translates into earthly affection.

Perhaps you have a routine of kissing and hugging your children each time you leave home and when you arrive home. There is no rushing out the door until you have made emotional deposits in your most valued relational account. Your child is your lock-box of love, waiting with a tender heart to be touched by their daddy. Initiate hugs and kisses.

When a child’s heart hurts from fear, rejection, or physical harm, move closer with care and compassion. Listen with empathetic ears and outstretched arms. Affectionate fathers are up close and personal, distant fathers are unsympathetic and impersonal. Your seeds of affection reap a harvest of healthy adult children who want to come back 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” (Luke 15:20b).

Since He sets His affections on you, you set your affections on Almighty God. A father who is first loved by his heavenly Father has the capacity to love his children appropriately and fully. Adult children who have experienced their father’s affection more easily show affection. So seek affection above and then apply it below.

Dear Lord, help us as fathers to show Your love to those You have given to us. Help us to strive to be the Father You have for us to be. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Our Good Father

Romans 4:25 (ESV)

Who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

What makes a father good? Importantly, it’s being a man the family can trust because he keeps his promises. Unfortunately, many don’t know what a father is, let alone a good father. So not surprisingly some have difficulty with God, our Father. How can God be a good Father if he was willing to send his Son off to die?

The answer: God the Father is good because he keeps his promises. When our first parents, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God and brought upon the world the curse of death, our Father promised a Savior to rescue the world from the condemnation people deserved because of sin.

Throughout history, God kept his promise of a Savior, proving that he is someone we can trust—a good Father. He delivered Noah through a worldwide flood. He granted offspring to an old man named Abraham and his barren wife. He sustained the world wrecked by famine through Joseph, who became second-in-command to Pharaoh of Egypt. He delivered the Israelites from slavery and kept them alive in the wilderness for forty years by his servant Moses. He returned a remnant of Israelites from 70 years in exile, even after they had forsaken him.

And finally, God delivered his Son. Conceived by the Holy Spirit, Jesus was delivered by the virgin Mary. On Palm Sunday, he was delivered into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. On Maundy Thursday, he was delivered into the hands of the authorities by a kiss from Judas. On Good Friday, he was delivered over to death at the hands of Roman soldiers.

All this Jesus did for us. God demands we live a perfect life, but accepts the perfect life that Jesus lived on our behalf. God demands payment for sin but counts Jesus’ innocent death in our place. On the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). And to show that he is fully satisfied, God delivered Jesus from death to life. Our Father does not count our sin against us. Because of what Jesus has done, God declares that we are not guilty.

God our Father is good!

Dear Lord, thank you for being our good Father, whom we can trust because You keep Your promises. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Happy Father's Day

Ephesians 6:2 (ESV)

“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise)

God Almighty is our Heavenly Father, and He is the perfect example of what it means to be a dad. Looking at each of the letters that make up the word "father," consider some of the characteristics that set Him apart and provide a model for our human dads.

F -Forgiveness is a huge part of your relationship with your Father. He is willing and able to forgive you of any sin you commit if you will only ask Him. It's comforting to know that nothing you do is ever so bad that God won't forgive you (Romans 8:38-39; 1 John 1:9). Now, that's unconditional acceptance.

A -He is active in your life all the time. God is always at work around you. Ask God to show you what He is doing. You will be amazed at all that is going on. More important, the invitation is open for you to get involved with Him. You never have to wait for your turn to be active with God (John 5:17).

T -Time for you. While humans get too busy to do this or that, God always has time for you. Whenever you feel lonely, struggle with a problem, want to share a thought, or need to deal with a concern, He is there for you. You can't find a time in your day when He is too busy to talk or listen to you (Jeremiah 33:3).

H -The heart of the matter is that God knows your heart, and He loves you anyway. Proverbs tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things. Many people don't like to be around you if you aren't in a good mood or if you make mistakes. God wants to hang out with you anytime, and He alone is able to change your heart to be all you were created to be (1 John 4:9-10,19).

E -Everywhere sums up God's place in your life. If you're a Christian, there is nowhere you can go where He isn't with you. It can be encouraging to realize that when you are in a tough place in your life, He is right there with you. Whether other people are there or not, God is by your side (Romans 8:35-39).

R -Rest and Read. These are two areas where most people could use a little work. Rest is important to you because it's easy to become so busy that you don't take time with the Lord. He wants you to set aside daily time to rest in Him and to read His Word. The Bible is His letter to His children. The best way to get to know your Father is to spend quality time resting and reading all about Him in the Word (John 14:21; Psalm 46:10).

All these attributes of God's character make Him who He is. If you have been blessed with an earthly dad who has a lot in common with our Heavenly Father, be grateful. If you have missed out on a relationship with an earthly dad, be thankful that God is there for you and wants to meet the needs in your life. Let God know how much He means to you.

Dear Lord, we thank You for being our Father. Help us to honor You each and every day. Today we want to thank You for the fathers that You have given to us. Help us to honor them in a way that is pleasing to You. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

God Created Fathers

Malachi 4:6 (NIV)

He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”

In Sunday school today I had some of the leaders share some of their special memories of their father. It was a blessed time as we shared with the young people the good times and the bad. Our prayer was that each of them would see that God had given them each a gift, whether it is a biological father or someone special that has stepped I as a father to them.

As I was reading the other day I came across the following story from one of Erma Bombeck posts.

When the good Lord was creating Fathers he started with a tall frame. And a female angel nearby said, "What kind of Father is that? If you're going to make children so close to the ground, why have you put Fathers up so high? He won't be able to shoot marbles without kneeling, tuck a child in bed without bending, or even kiss a child without a lot of stooping." And God smiled and said, "Yes, but if I make him child-size, who would children have to look up to?"

And when God made a Father's hands, they were large and sinewy. And the angel shook her head sadly and said, "Do you know what you're doing? Large hands are clumsy. They can't manage diaper pins, small buttons, and rubber bands on pony tails or even remove splinters caused by baseball bats." And God smiled and said, "I know, but they're large enough to hold everything a small boy empties from his pockets at the end of a day...yet small enough to cup a child's face in his hands."

And then God molded long, slim legs and broad shoulders. And the angel nearly had a heart attack. "Boy, this is the end of the week, all right," she clucked. "Do you realize you just made a Father without a lap? How is he going to pull a child close to him without the kid falling between his legs?" And God smiled and said, "A mother needs a lap. A father needs strong shoulders to pull a sled, balance a boy on a bicycle, and hold a sleepy head on the way home from the circus."

God was in the middle of creating two of the largest feet anyone had ever seen when the angel could contain herself no longer. "That's not fair. Do you honestly think those large boats are going to dig out of bed early in the morning when the baby cries? Or walk through a small birthday party without crushing at least three of the guests?" And God smiled and said, "They'll work. You'll see. They'll support a small child who wants to ride a horse, or scare off mice at the summer cabin, or display shoes that will be a challenge to fill."

God worked throughout the night, giving the Father few words, but a firm authoritative voice; eyes that saw everything, but remained calm and tolerant. Finally, almost as an afterthought, he added tears. Then he turned to the angel and said, "Now, are you satisfied that he can love as much as a Mother?" The angel shuteth up.

Dear Lord, we thank You for our fathers. We pray that You will strengthen them and give them the wisdom they need as they strive to be the men you want them to be. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.