From Pastor Biar’s Pen 

Reflecting on Father’s Day

            While not a Church holiday, there’s an interesting dynamic in the way the Church interacts with the recognition of fathers. After all, the Biblical imagery given is that God is our Father which necessarily creates a comparison with the relationships we have with our own earthly fathers – which gets further complicated when we realize that not everybody has had the best experience with their own father which can create a whole can of worms in how they’re supposed to relate to our Father in heaven if they’re constantly told that God loves them like a father and then go home to some degree of emotional/physical abuse. So the usual stereotype is that Mother’s Day sermons are full of fawning about how wonderful mothers are and how they are God’s gift to us all, and Father’s Day sermons are usually about telling men that they’re not doing enough and need to step up and be better fathers. I just don’t use either holiday as the sermon topic and avoid that issue entirely. There’s not much more to say than that humans will let each other down and no analogy is perfect.

            Now that I’m on the other side of things and am a father myself, though, I’m gaining a much greater appreciation for that “Father” title the Lord has given Himself and how we are to understand His love. I’m not trying to toot my own horn – far from it. Let’s face it, I can’t get frustrated at Lydia for breaking the same rules over and over again while telling her I need her to show me she’s actually sorry by not doing it anymore without recognizing her behavior is exactly what I do towards God’s own Law as I repeatedly fall into my various sins and shortcomings. And He’s a lot more patient than I am. At the same time, however, the depth of love I feel for my children even as they’re not exactly behaving the way I would like them to gives an appreciation for the love that God has for all His children despite our faults, and that’s an amazing thing upon which to meditate. So happy Father’s Day to the relevant audience out there, and let us give thanks for our heavenly Father who indeed loves us more than we can ever fully realize or appreciate.

God’s Blessings,  Pastor Biar

Pages