Father's Day, what does it mean to you? Its
meaning has changed for me over
the years. When I was young' it was a day to wear a red
rose to church. It was
a day to say, "Thanks Dad for all the things you do."
Later, when I became a dad,
it took on a deeper meaning as I began to realize all
the responsibilities that go with
the title. Now,being a father and a grandfather it
takes on a special meaning. I look
back at the memory of my own father with warm thoughts
and understand him better.
I look to the future by looking in the eyes
of my son. I see the strength of young
manhood and hope and pray that I have been and am being
the kind of example he
needs to see to know what being a Christian father is
all about. I look into the eyes
of my grandson and see the wonder of new things as he
learns to explore his world
in which there are new things every day. Again, I hope
and pray that I am being the
example that he needs to see to know what being a Christian
grandfather is all about.
Father's day is a wonderful day to stop and
reflect on being a father. It is a time
to think of the great privilege that God has granted
men to become fathers,and to
help shape and mold a young mind and soul. It is a time
to think that with this
privilege comes great responsibilities, as the apostle
Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:4,
"And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath:
but bring them up in the
nurture and admonition the Lord."
Fathers, notice there are two parts to this
verse. One is a negative, "provoke
not." This provoking is done by making too many demands,
undue severity when disciplining our children. The other part is a positive,
"bring them up in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord." This requires instruction,
spiritual and moral nurture as
well as physical (Matt. 4:4). As the children grow older,
then we need to give them
admonition, that reasoning for which they should or should
not do certain things
(Deut. 6:6-9). Fathers, there will be no greater reward
than getting to heaven and
being surrounded by our families! Have a great Father's
Day!
© Copyright 2000. Paul Fisher. All rights reserved.