Sermon Central
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Imperfect Fathers
Contributed by Derrick Tuper on Jun 17, 2019 (message contributor)
Summary: It's only fair that if I'm going to have a sermon on Mother's Day about imperfect mothers then I should also have a sermon on Father's Day about imperfect fathers. Remember the TV show, Father Knows Best? Guess what? Sometimes we don't know best.
Verse four, "I've long since retired and my son's moved away. I called him up just the other day. I said, I'd like to see you if you don't mind. He said, I'd love to, dad, if I could find the time. You see, my new job's a hassle, and the kid's got the flu. But it's sure nice talking to you, dad, it's been sure nice talking to you. And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me, he'd grown up just like me; my boy was just like me." And then the final chorus.
This song epitomizes the price a dad will pay and the regrets he will have for not spending time with his children. We need to make sure we are spending time with the kids and creating precious memories for them...and for us.
But sometimes even the dads who are there can feel like they're not doing enough. We might not be shirking our responsibilities but we criticize ourselves and worry about our dad performance. Not that we shouldn't evaluate these things but I think sometimes we beat ourselves up over it and we end up feeling we're not doing anything right.
Jesus had something to say about that. Matt. 7:9-11, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"
In context, Jesus is encouraging us to understand that God wants to give us good things so we should ask him. But in vs. 9-11 he makes a reference to imperfect fathers. Even though it doesn't sound too flattering, it kinda is. Even though we are imperfect, we give our children what they need; we know how to give good things to our kids. Although we're not perfectly doing it like God is that doesn't mean we're not doing a good job.
Really, the only person who's probably expecting you to be perfect is yourself. We can be pretty self-condemning. We mess up and we conclude that we're a terrible father. Not that we should minimize our mistakes but like I mentioned in the Mother's Day sermon-you are probably doing a better job than you think you are. So, lighten up, don't take yourself so seriously and enjoy life with your family. [clip #3]
