So that we could better grasp His love for us and the cherished connection He desires to have with us, God established the father-child relationship theme beginning in Genesis and running throughout the Bible. When we understand this powerful spiritual metaphor, we understand the truth of God and the biblical worldview that naturally follows.
The Bible teaches that God is all-loving, all-powerful, all-knowing, merciful, just, and unchanging. God knows everything about us and loves us anyway. It is an awesome thought to contemplate. Our heavenly Father cares for us, cheers for us, and wants the best for us. The apostle Paul presents a beautiful description of God and the things of God as lovely, pure, true, gracious, just, excellent, and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8).
This Father’s Day, I want you to consider the influence and blessing of our three fathers, beginning naturally with our heavenly Father. There are many ways we can imitate our heavenly father. We imitate God when we tell the truth, when we act in love, when we show grace, when we are faithful to our spouses, when we are wise stewards of our resources, when we are industrious, when we demonstrate faith, and so on. When we copy God’s ways, we reflect His character in our lives.
We imitate God when we are productive human beings, when we employ our natural gifts, and when we encourage others, especially our children, to do likewise. When God created you and me, He planted within us the instinct and drive to work, invent, produce, create, and own, because in doing so, we imitate Him, assign credit to Him, and further His creation. Paul said, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children” (Ephesians 5:1).
Next, consider the blessing of our nation’s Founding Fathers who were, of course, inspired by our heavenly Father. They understood the character of God and the nature of man. At great risk and with even greater faith, the Founders established the essential fundamentals of a highly successful nation. As a result of following their principles, rooted in biblical truth, America became the most prosperous and generous nation in all of human history. As we have drifted from the Founder’s game plan, we have, no doubt, left many unclaimed blessings on the table.
Our Founding Fathers believed that God made us with free will, with the insatiable appetite for freedom and with a distinct purpose to fulfill. Therefore, their goal was to create a government that was most in harmony with God’s creation, most in line with rewarding and enhancing the positive aspects of human nature that lead to productive behavior, true stewardship, and the highly sought after praise of, “Well Done My Good and Faithful Servant.”
There’s a reason why immigrants have streamed into America for over two hundred years: it’s the greatest land of opportunity ever created. No matter where you come from, this is where you have a legitimate shot at designing your life and making your dreams come true. In America, your life can become an example for others to follow or a warning for others to heed. And this brings us to our earthly father and the annual tradition of Father’s Day.
Through their words, actions and investment in us, our dads teach us about life, bolster our reservoir of wisdom and shape the legacy they will leave behind with the life we lead. Unlike our heavenly Father, none of our dads is the perfect example for us to follow. But, that’s what God is for, right? However, the older I have become the wiser my dad certainly appears to be. Getting back to the basic in my own life essentially means getting back to the advice my dad always gives me. If we are fortunate, our dads are mentors, role models and coaches all rolled into one. Fully engaged fathers can help their kids dream, risk, serve, grow, bounce back from adversity and reach their full potential. By believing in us, our dads can help us to see ourselves as big as God created us to be…and this can make all the difference in the world.
This Father’s Day, we might all do well to remember and learn from our three fathers.