Honoring Fathers

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    Father's Day is a beautiful day to celebrate and honor our fathers.  Both Sam and I will celebrate our fathers, knowing that they are worshipping our Saviour in His very presence this year.  This will be Sam's first Father's Day without his dad on Earth, and it will be the tenth without mine.  Father's Day will be filled with sweet memories and pangs of sorrow from missing those sweet faces and hugs.  However, what we can both testify to is the faithfulness of God.  He is a Father to the fatherless and His love and mercy are never-ending. 

    Our earthly fathers are to be a picture of our Heavenly Father.  Of course, no human can do this perfectly.  Sam and I were blessed with wonderful fathers who still point us to Jesus as we reflect on their memories. However, our sin-filled world is full of children and adults who do not have examples like ours.  Did God leave them alone and without any knowledge of fatherhood?  Praise Jesus, no!

    Jesus spent His entire earthly ministry showing us His Father.  He said in John 17:25-26:

Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.  I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.

    This is the reason Jesus came: to make the Father known!  This is our task as well, to make the Father known!  Jesus said in John 17:3:

This is eternal life, that they may know you.

    Jesus was speaking to His Father when He prayed this verse.  This was the focus of Jesus' time on earth.  He brought eternal life through the knowledge of the Father.  Through Jesus, we see and experience a Father that will always be with us and will never fail.  Through Him, our souls find peace and comfort when the world around us is shattered.  Through Him, we can have joy.  We can know and experience Him personally, as well as share this with those around us. 

    This week, maybe you have an amazing earthly father to celebrate.  Praise God!  Your father is there to point you to the Heavenly Father.  Thank him and bring him honor on this special weekend -- and every day!  As you learn more about the Father, praise Him for the blessing of an earthly father who bears witness to the Heavenly Father.  Your wonderful father may be in Heaven, as are my father-in-law and father.  Praise God for their example.  Look for the ways that they were faithful to show you Jesus.  Turn your sadness to praise. Cling to the Heavenly Father who brings us comfort and meets our every need.  I can testify to His goodness and faithfulness. Take some time to get to know Him if you have not already.  This is a time to praise Him. 

    Maybe you don't have a wonderful  example of an earthly father.  You still have reason to celebrate this weekend.  You have a Heavenly Father who can fill all of the spaces that are left empty in your heart. Jesus showed us the Father, and His Father is our Father, if we choose to follow Him.  The Fatherhood of God is central to the Christian faith.  Yes, earthly fathers will always fall short and fail us.  God the Father never fails.  He is faithful and just. Jesus tells us all about Him.  The entire Bible is God revealed to us!  I encourage you to come to know the Father through the Son.  Let Him fill all of those chasms and turn your sorrow to joy!  He can and He will! 

    Regardless of our earthly situation, God the Father wants a relationship with us. That relationship is of eternal significance.  As we grow in that relationship, we will testify to His love and faithfulness in every circumstance.  What a good, good Father He is! His mercies are new every morning!

💓 Heather Sparks💓

    

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