Be Thankful For Our Fathers

Ephesians 6:1-4

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

First and foremost, we want to give thanks to our Heavenly Father, one of the greatest Fathers of all. Although we will poke fun at our earthly fathers’ we at the same time will give honor to them and God.

A small boy said, "Father’s Day is just like Mother’s Day, only you don’t spend as much on the gift."

And I say, "What gift?"

Mark Twain said, "When I was a boy of 14 my father was so ignorant, I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man learned in 7 years."

Popular comedian/entertainer Bill Cosby wrote, "Now that my father is a grandfather, he just can’t wait to give money to my kids. But when I was a kid and I asked him for 50 cents, he would tell me the story of his life. How he got up at 5 a.m. when he was 70 years old and walked 23 miles to milk 90 cows. And the farmer for whom he worked had no bucket, so he had to squirt the milk into his little hand and then walk 8 miles to the nearest can. All for 5 cents. The result was...I never got my 50 cents.

"But now he tells my children every time he comes into the house, ’Well, let’s see how much money old Granddad has for his wonderful grandkids.’ And the minute they take money out of his hands I call them over to me and I snatch it away from them. BECAUSE THAT IS MY MONEY."

Someone wrote these humorous words entitled, "The World According to Dad." These are words that most dads have said at some time or another to their children.

• This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.

• Bring back all the change.

• How should I know? Ask your mother.

• I’m not made of money!

• When I was your age, I walked 5 miles to and from school each day and it was uphill both ways.

• You are going and you will have fun!

• Who’s paying the bills around here, anyway?

• If you break your leg don’t come running to me.

• Don’t put your feet on the furniture. Your mother will kill you.

• Get down before you kill yourself. On second thought, go ahead.

• Be quiet! Can’t you see I’m trying to think!

• Why? Because I said so!

• If you don’t quit that I’m going to call your mother.

• Just wait till you have kids of your own.

• I was not asleep. I was just resting my eyes.

Being a parent and a father can be an interesting and trying experience.

Someone said, "Parents spend the first part of a child’s life urging them to talk and walk, and the rest of their childhood telling him to sit down and keep quiet."

Father said to his daughter, "What’s wrong, Judy? Usually, you talk on the phone for hours. This time you only talked for 30 minutes. How come?" Judy replied, "It was the wrong number."

A son wrote home to his dad. He said, "Dear Dad, please let me hear from you more often, even if it’s only in fives or tens."

Brethren, like I said earlier, we are here today to remember the Lord and honor our earthly fathers. We need to do both.

I want us to think about three things for which we should say, "Thanks, Dad!"

1. Thanks for material provision

2. Thanks for faithful instruction

3. Thanks for godly illustration

Thanks for Material Provision

Now we may look at this in a bit of humor, but it is commanded of us fathers to care for our families.

But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

1 Timothy 5:8

Wow! That is powerful. If a father does not provide materially for his family (food, clothing, shelter) then he has denied the faith of Christ and is worse than unbelievers. Why would such a father be worse than unbelievers? Because even unbelievers provide for their families!

My dad was killed when I was 2 years old, so I do not have any stories to say about him. But I do know this, He remained the man of the house for some 18 years before I was born, there caring for my mother, brother, and sisters. This, at a time when it was said that Black fathers abandoned their families, mine hung in there for all those years. Who knows, if his life had not been taken, he might have been here today listening to me thank him.