Follow Me as I Follow Christ

Encouragement for Dads on Father’s Day

Every Father’s Day, dads everywhere proudly wear the ties, grill the hamburgers, display the hand-drawn cards in their offices, and promise to use the special shaving lotion. They wait for calls from kids who have moved away, and they play with grandchildren who live nearby. Each of those moments brings joy and delight, because dads know they represent something much bigger: love.

But Father’s Day isn’t just about the gifts and the hugs and the calls. Sometimes those things aren’t readily forthcoming. As we all know, families and life experiences can be complicated.

The truth is that whether they do or don’t get a gift and whether or not they receive recognition, good fathers show love by investing in their families. They pray. They lead. They sacrifice. They work. They forgive. They ask forgiveness. They serve. They show by example what love looks like, and in that love, we see a glimpse of the Gospel.

I John 3:1 says “Behold what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the sons of God!” What an astonishing and humbling thing, that God chose the role of “Father” to describe His relationship with us. As our Father, God loves us, nurtures us, teaches us, disciplines us, and leads us. Like the father of the prodigal son, He runs toward us and takes our shame on Himself so that we can be restored to the family. 

Of course, not everyone associates the idea of a father with good things. Not all fathers are good representations of God’s love toward us. If that’s the case for you, take comfort in the fact that God is not like our sinful earthly fathers. He is perfectly kind, loving, just, and merciful. He is a Father to the fatherless who comforts us in our affliction and gives good gifts to His beloved children.

But if you grew up with a good father – not a perfect one, but one who loved you – then you understand what Paul meant when he said “Be followers of me, as I am of Christ” (I Corinthians 11:1). That relationship with your dad can be instrumental in helping you understand how God relates to you. God will not leave us to soldier on alone. In good times and in achingly hard ones, He will be a kind heavenly Father to us, just as a good father loves and cares for his children.

In honor of Father’s Day, we asked some of the dads in our church to share how God has done exactly that: how He has given them strength and hope to lead their families. We hope these thoughts will be an encouragement to dads in all stages of life and to the families who love them.

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My parenting verse has always been 1 Corinthians 11:1 – “Be imitators of me as I am of Christ.” Although my kids will spend the rest of their lives (hopefully) reading and understanding the Word of God for themselves, Moms and Dads can give their kids a head start by modeling Christ to them as they grow closer to Lord. 

I heard a phrase in a sermon a few years ago that has helped me stay calm under pressure: “God may be doing 10 million things in your life simultaneously and in our finiteness we might be aware of 3 of them.” Responding to your children with the Gospel in every stage of life is never wasted. 

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When I think of being a father, my heart is flooded with joy, happiness, excitement – but sometimes it turns to fear and even failure. There are times when I just don’t seem adequate to be the father I’ve been called to be. I grew up without a father, and that experience has been instrumental in teaching me to rest in the promises of the One who was there for me growing up and the One who is still there for me now that I’m a dad.

Deuteronomy 31:8 says “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” My heavenly Father has always been there for me! That is something I know, and I can claim. It motivates me to persevere past the fear and the failure and to lay hold on the joy, happiness, and excitement of being a dad!

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“Who is sufficient for these things? …Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant.”

2 Cor. 2:16b, 3:5-6a

As a brand-new father, I can echo what Paul wrote about being in the ministry – who is sufficient for these things? The physical exhaustion, the long nights of having a newborn – but then the daunting face of the future as I see so many have struggles spiritually because of insufficient fathers. How can I do this fatherhood thing? But thankfully, Paul doesn’t leave it there, but says that though we are insufficient for the task, God is more than sufficient! I am a weak father, but He is a good One who will never let me or my child down! In fact, I am a better father the more I recognize my insufficiencies as a dad and look to His grace to be sufficient for every tired morning and every future struggle.

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“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.”

Psalm 127:3

I was telling a friend this week how blessed I am that the Lord gave me three very special children to care for, instruct and love over the past fifty-some odd years. And how well they have learned, for those years of loving care that I invested in them has now resulted in their loving care of me and my wife. It seems like yesterday that I was constantly checking on them, nurturing, and instructing them on what was best for their phase of life, and now how sweet it is to be checked on, nurtured, and loved by these very special people called my children.

Dads, I pray that you will be blessed in the years to come as I have been. Care well for those special young ones that God has given you, and one day they will care well for you! And there, my friend, is one special reward that God has spoken of. Selah! 🙂 

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I have a good father who taught me to do what’s right, and that’s not easy. And now it’s my job to pass along that thinking to my children. While they are too young and immature to see the long goal, they will eventually learn that I tried to teach them how to serve their Heavenly Father by simply doing what is right.

Good fathers will eventually think about their legacy, asking themselves questions like: what will last in the lives of my children when I am gone? A question that I hope will turn out a long list of answers like a strong work ethic, integrity, trustworthiness, and kindness just to name a few, but mostly I would like them to be Christ-like. I would like to know that my faith in the Heavenly Father is remembered, sought after, and lived as faithfully as possible. Not as a robot following the lines of code (rules), but as a simple disciple of Jesus Christ, sitting at His feet, learning, and growing to be like the Master. 

Legacies are made of the things that continue when you’re gone. So maybe I can leave a legacy of being a Jesus follower by example, knowing entirely that the results are up to my Heavenly Father who gave me the opportunity to serve.

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Thank you to all the dads who serve their families every day and who lead them in faithfully following Christ. Happy Father’s Day!