With it being Father’s Day, our Pastor figured today would be a good day to teach on fatherhood, and how God the Father influences us. She began by giving us some insight to some of the more intimate details of her childhood.
Our pastor didn’t grow up with a father in her home. Her mother had a boyfriend while she was growing, but he never approached our Pastor in a fatherly way. Her biological father was in her life briefly but remained both emotionally and physically distant, and never told her that she was his daughter. As the youngest of seven children she had no time with him, and never developed any amount of relationship.
Sometime into her adulthood, after getting married and raising a family of her own, she heard from sister that her father had passed. During the conversation she lamented never having met the man. She expressed that she wished she had gotten to know his personality, and her sister’s reply surprised her. “You’re lucky you didn’t.” Her sister had known the Pastor’s father, and did not have a favorable opinion of him. This illustrates a very real and harsh truth through which some of us have had to live: none of us is perfect, and it’s often the people closest to us that cause us the most pain. Moreover, the effects that this man had on both of these women carried over into how they raised their own children.
“…the characteristics of God in us.” That is truly the ultimate goal in our walk. These are not difficult concepts to grasp, though executing them is one of the most difficult things a person has ever consciously attempted, and a lifelong challenge we all face. Despite all of the intricacies there are truly characteristics God wants exemplified above all. These are the ones personified in the gift that was given to us with no price we can pay, invaluable, and the ultimate sacrifice: Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ life and death is God the Father’s way of not just expressing his love for us, but of providing an example for us to follow. Jesus’ example is not a measuring stick against which we can be graded, but light that reminds us that, no matter how dark the situations we find ourselves in, we can always see our path. It’s by following this example that a man can be a good father, no matter the example he was given in his own father. If we prioritize the relationship we have with our deity we can use his direction as our compass. We then become the living example for our own children to follow. We can find comfort in knowing they will not struggle as hard as we have, and they will find it easier to be a good example to their own children.
We hope everyone had a happy Father’s day and look forward to seeing everyone next week!
The verses we used to study this week:
Psalm 23:1-6, 65:5
Hosea 14:3
Numbers 14:18-19
1 Chornicals 16:34
Psalms 85:7,10-13, 68:5
Romans 9:15-16
2 Corinthians 3:13, 4:1-6