In a day and age when our culture seems to want something new to rage about on a daily basis, Father’s Day is often unjustly maligned or largely ignored.
The prevailing attitude in the culture and entertainment is that dads are unnecessary, unenlightened or worse. Politically speaking, those who want to destroy the so-called “patriarchy” love to hate Father’s Day.
The truth is that fathers are an integral part of our society. Dads provide a solid bedrock of stability and protection for their families. Their deepest desire is to see their families thrive and their children succeed.
Nothing compares to the sense of pride that a dad has when he knows that he has trained and prepared his children to do well in this crazy world and he then sees them rise to whatever challenges they face with maturity and responsibility. Dads are also the spiritual guides for their families – modeling what it is like to put God first in everything and leading by example.
Proverbs 22:6 tells us to "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Along with it, Ephesians 6:4 says “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”
There is much wisdom in those two simple verses, and I hope they will be an encouragement to you, dads, as it is for me in my parenting journey.
Keep up the good work – and even when you fail – just keep going. You know in your heart what your kids and family need from you and you can prevail against the misguided messages of our culture.
For those of you who are able to celebrate your father, I hope you’ll take the time to thank him for his role in your life. And for those whose fathers are with the Lord, I hope you’ll thank your Heavenly Father for the earthly father He gave you and the gift of reunion in eternity through His Son.
