Ahhh, Father's Day. The annual celebration to give thanks and praise to the man that sacrifices everything for his family. Provider, protector, teacher, high priest, chastiser and order keeper, all apt surnames for what our dad did for us and we are or should be doing for our own families. There is no more noble task that God gives us as dads then to give our all for our families. I know for myself, that it is in the simple day to day things in my family life, words of encouragement, advice, a hug, an uninterrupted ear or just a simple yes I will that give my wife and children the most comfort and security. Being there in every capacity is not only important to them but to God also. You see, we as dads have quite a High Standard to live up to.
Too often today we hear more about bad fathers instead of good ones. You know, the ones who quit on their marriage or cheat on their taxes. Who father children and don't stick around to take care of them and their girlfriend or wife. Who lay around and don't work. Who are physically or verbally abusive. Yep, those are the ones unfortunately that make the news every day. But I'm here to tell you that there are many dedicated fathers out there who you never hear about. We good dads are alive and well!
Now, I am not saying this to get an extra gift tomorrow or because I am a compensated actor for the Great Father's Society. I am saying this because I am privileged and I mean highly privileged to be given the opportunity to be a father. No matter what I have achieved or done personally in my life i.e., money, accolades, possessions or any other meaningless pontifications, I would rather be known as a great dad and husband then anything else. There is no greater reward then to receive pure requited love back from your family for being the father HE created you to be. I am, as my good friend Bob Simenson always says, BBM, Blessed Beyond Measure. Ironically, if you take an objective look at most of the problems in our society today, they stem from the crumbling of the family unit. And who is the head of that unit? Bingo! It is a cold hard and dismal fact that without a loving father figure in a household that nearly every aspect of our children's lives are and will be somewhat adversely affected all their lives. Essentially garbage in garbage out. Morals, disposition, work ethic, respect, self discipline, ambition and our faith are equally taught by both parent's but installed by dads. I am not trying to be condescending to the mothers out there at all. We look to both of our parent's equally but for different needs also. Mom's, you get your day in May anyways! ;)
So fire up the grill, raise a cold one, give dad the new driver or outfit to help replace his "That 70's Show" wardrobe and honor him. When you do, you give honor to the Heavenly Father who set the standard for all of us to live by!
Ephesians 6:4
"And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath,
but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord"
No comments:
Post a Comment