HONORING OUR FATHERS
LUKE 15:11-32
ILLUSTRATION THE IDEA FOR CREATING A DAY for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father’s Day while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909.
Having been raised by her father, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man.
Her father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910. In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Roses are the Father’s Day flowers: red to be worn for a living father and white if the father has died.
ILLUSTRATION The greatest numbers of long distance phone calls are made on Mother’s Day; the largest numbers of collect calls are made on Father’s Day!
Finding a biblical model for fatherhood is not easy. You can not find a man whom you may consider as an ideal father. Each father mentioned in the bible has its own share of weaknesses and shortcomings except for the father of the prodigal son. Let us open our bibles to Luke 15:11-32.
The parable of the prodigal son was shared by Jesus to teach us the attitude of the heavenly father towards the Gentiles who never honored him and how he would like the Jews to understand His concerns for them. He also shared the compassionate character of God towards a repentant person.
On the other hand, the parable of the prodigal son also depicts the qualities of a father who deserves honor, respect, and recognition. As a father, we may not have all the qualities of the father of the prodigal son but if we have at least one of his characteristics then we are worthy of honor and recognition.
Children don’t expect your father to possess all the positive qualities of a father. Sometimes you are tempted to compare your father to another father. Let us realize that they live and work based on the resources and opportunities they were given.
ILLUSTRATION The father of five children had won a toy at a raffle. He called his kids together to ask which of them should have the present. "Who is the most obedient?" he asked. "Who never talks back to mother? Who does everything she says?" Five small voices answered in unison. "Okay, dad, you get the toy." From James Buchanan, “The Importance of Fathers”
Let us celebrate some of their positive qualities and not their imperfection. What are the QUALITIES OF A FATHER that deserves honor, respect, and recognition?
1. RESPONSIBLE PROVIDER
Obviously, the father of the prodigal son is a responsible provider. Having achieved a degree of material prosperity implies his diligence and hard work. He was not only good provider for his family but even to his own workers. (SEE v. 17) He worked hard not for his own retirement but for his children’s future. (SEE vv. 12b, 31)
ILLUSTRATION Maybe you heard the story about a little girl named Sandra who was raised in an adobe house in a rural area of New Mexico, without electricity & running water. In fact, her mother & father had to drive to El Paso, 200 miles away, so that her mother could be in the hospital when Sandra was born.
Sandra’s parents home-schooled her because they were so far away from any school,. They ordered a variety of magazines to expose her to the outside world. She grew up in a very wholesome environment. Her fondest memories of her family are of the times when mom & dad took the whole family on vacation to visit the state capitol. They went into every capitol building & climbed their domes, west of the Mississippi.
When Sandra graduated from high school, she went to Stanford University & graduated with honors. Today, Sandra Day O’Connor is the first woman to be seated in the Supreme Court of the United States of America. It is because mom & dad cared enough to provide for her despite of their meager situation.
I understand that there are irresponsible father who were not able to provide for their families. But there are millions of fathers out there who work hard to provide for their families. We need to honor them as they diligently provide – food, clothes, shelter, and education.
Many times, fathers were challenged by their own children by being not good stewards of their hard earned resources – wasted years in school, extravagant lifestyle, and unrestrained spending.
Children, I hope that you will not follow the example of the prodigal son. The prodigal son asked for his share of the estate and squandered them in wild living. Some of our fathers today are very generous to their children. But never took their generosity as opportunity to be poor steward of their resources. Honor them by using their resources wisely.
In addition, looking back, most of us here are successful individuals because of our hardworking parents. I hope and pray that we will not hesitate to share with them the blessings we enjoy today. (SEE 1 Timothy 5:3-4)
If for some reasons, we failed to be a good stewards of our parent’s hard earned resources let us not hesitate to seek their forgiveness.
2. ENDURING COMPASSION
The prodigal son suffered as a result of his rebellious and selfish attitude. But when he realized his mistakes, he decided to return to the father to seek forgiveness. (SEE v. 18) I wonder what the father felt when his younger son decided to ask for his share of the estate and squandered them in wild living. Perhaps he asked the question “what have I done wrong that I deserve this kind of treatment?”
In most cases, we tend to blame ourselves as parents for the misdeeds of our children. But there are also instances where the parents have done their best but the children still turn out rebellious. Biblically speaking, this is also true. (SEE 1 Samuel 8:1-3) Parents or fathers do not blame yourself nor be bitter for what happened to your children.
Let us just pray and hope that they will “come to their senses” like the prodigal son and realize their mistakes. When that happened, let us demonstrate our enduring compassion. Let us be open and willing to give them second chance. (SEE v. 20) We honor the fathers who have enduring compassion for their children.
Some of us here are able to recover from our past mistakes because our parents or fathers gave us another chance. They trusted us once more and given us another opportunity to prove our worthiness of trust. As a result, we are able to live a normal and fulfilled life. Thank your fathers or parents for your enduring compassion.
ILLUSTRATION Some months ago I heard a touching story about a humble, consecrated pastor whose young son had become very ill. After the boy had undergone an exhaustive series of tests, the father was told the shocking news that his son had a terminal illness.
The youngster had accepted Christ as his Savior, so the minister knew that death would usher him into Glory; but he wondered how to inform one in the bloom of youth that he soon would die. After earnestly seeking the direction of the Holy Spirit, he went with a heavy heart through the hospital ward to the boy’s bedside.
First he read a passage of Scripture and had a time of prayer with his dear child. Then he gently told him that the doctors could promise him only a few more days to live. "Are you afraid to meet Jesus, my boy?" asked his devout father. Blinking away a few tears, the little fellow said bravely, "No, not if He’s like you, Dad!"
On the other hand, there are fathers who were hurt so much that they refused to give another chance. In their hearts, probably they were saying “they have to learn their lesson well.” (SEE 2 Corinthians 2:5-11) The idea in this passage is to discipline the sinner but restore after some time and give another chance.
Sad to say, that there are individuals who are not in speaking terms with their fathers for a quite a long time now. Fathers let us be humble and give another chance to our children. Children never abuse the enduring love of your parents or fathers.
3. GENTLE PEACEMAKER
When the older brother learned the arrival and celebration for the younger son, he became angry and refused to go in. The father went out and pleaded with him and explained the reason for the celebration. It was not because the younger son was special and he is not but because of the repentance of the sinful son.
The challenge for fathers who have two or more children is not to be partial in his treatment of his children. (SEE Genesis 37:1-4) If we want harmony in the family, fathers do not be biased in our treatment of children. We honor those fathers who give equal love and attention to all his children.
ILLUSTRATION Someone has said, “A boy loves his mother, but will follow his father."
In addition, our impartiality can be seen when we aim to achieve peace when our children quarrel. We need to give our fair judgment and evaluation of the situation. Our children perform differently and we should not hesitate to reward the diligent and discipline the deviant behavior. (SEE 1 Samuel 3:29-30)
We honor the fathers who promote harmony and fairness at home and their relationship with their children. Lots of children were discouraged and rebelled because of partiality and passivity of the parents in terms of their relationship with their children.
ILLUSTRATION Bill Cosby said "So you’ve decided to have a child. You’ve decided to give up quiet evenings with good books & lazy weekends with good music, intimate meals during which you finish whole sentences, sweet private times when you’ve savored the thought that just the two of you & your love are all you will ever need.
"You’ve decided to turn your sofas into trampolines, & to abandon the joys of leisurely contemplating reproductions of great art for the joys of frantically coping with reproductions of yourselves. Why?"
He goes on, "Poets have said the reason to have children is to give yourself immortality; & I must admit I did ask God to give me a son because I wanted someone to carry on the family name. Well, God did just that & I now confess that there have been times I’ve told my son not to reveal who he is. `You make up a name,’ I’ve said. `Just don’t tell anybody whose son you are.’"
I believe that fathers would not be afraid to be identified with their son if they have at least possess one of the qualities of an honorable and respectable father – responsible provider, enduring compassion, and gentle peacemaker.
