The Father's Job Series

Dick Van Dyke tells the stories of how children act toward their

father when they are angry. In his book Faith, Hope and Hilarity he

tells of a boy who had been spanked by his father for making too

much noise. The boy climbed into his mother's lap and said, "Mama

I wish you had married Jesus. He loves little children." Another

little boy who had been punished for misbehaving carefully left his

father out of the lineup when he said his prayers. When he finished he

said to his dad, "I suppose you noticed you wasn't in it."

It is not easy to be a good father, for even when you do the right

thing you are not necessarily rewarded for it. This is so clearly

portrayed by Jesus in the story of the Prodigal Son. The poor father

could not seem to win. He had two boys each of which was worse than

the other in different ways. The younger son was a liberal rascal who

cared only for his own pleasure. He went off and wasted his

inheritance on wine, women, and song. He brought disgrace to the

family name, and he was an embarrassment to dad. His older son

was a self-centered conservative. He was a workaholic who devoted

his life to the farm, but never learned how to enjoy life, and have

some fun once in a while. He resisted those who did, and so he was

also an embarrassment to his father.

Two boys from the same father, and we can assume from the same

mother, and they are as opposite as day and night. They are both

extremists at opposite ends. You have the open minded liberal and

the narrow minded conservative. Poor dad has to cope with this

pathetic pair of sorry siblings. This parable, and the whole of the

Bible, and life in general make our first point clear.

I. IT IS A HARD JOB TO BE A FATHER.

If you have any doubts about it, just ask God. He has had the

hardest time of any father on record trying to raise a decent family.

His chosen people were often more rotten than the pagan kids next

door. A major portion of the Old Testament deals with God's grief,

and His judgment on His own children because of their folly and

rebellion. Many a father as a child who is just like the kids he doesn't

want them to play with. God had this very problem, and this

confirms the message that Dr. Dobson is continuing proclaiming to

Christian parents. You can do everything right to the best of your

ability, and pray, and teach wisely, and still have a child grow up and

be a rebel. He is constantly dealing with godly Christians who have

an ungodly child. They are devastated by it, and they are filled with

guilt because they wonder where they failed.

Dobson says this is nonsense. You just as well blame God for all

the rotten things His children do, as to blame yourself for what your

children choose to do. God does what a father ought to do. He gives

love, guidance, and instruction for life through His Word, and still

those with all of His provision choose to go after idols, and follow the

path of sinful folly.

The father of the Prodigal and the elder brother is portrayed by

Jesus as an ideal loving father. Yet neither of his boys took after him.

They were defective specimens of humanity. If you think there is a

magic formula that will always produce and ideal child, you are blind

to reality, for neither God nor man has ever found such a formula.

The Bible reveals children who have an awful background and home

life grow up to be impressive godly people. Then there are those who

have the ideal environment who grow up to be scoundrels. This is not

to lead us to conclude that it does not matter what you do, for it does.

The majority of good and godly people had fathers who were good

and godly. The majority of bad kids had bad fathers. It matters very

much the kind of dad you are, for this will impact your kids for life.

My point is that every child has freedom of choice, and the best

parents can have children who choose to be prodigals. The best of

parents can have the worse of kids, just like the father of these two

boys in our text. Chuck Swindoll in his book Simple Faith tells the

true story of Robert Robinson. As a young boy he heard the great

evangelist George Whitefield in London. He was converted and felt a

powerful call to the ministry. At age 25 he became the pastor of the