In Jesus Holy Name June 21, 2009
Text: Ephesians 6:2,5:16-18 (The Message) Father’s Day
“Take Them by The Hand and Lead Them”
Two weeks ago, the June 8th cover of Sports Illustrated placed on their cover a 16 year old Bryce Harper with this caption: “Baseball’s Chosen One”. According to Sports Illustrated he is the most exciting prodigy since LeBron James. Bryce Harper loves to play baseball. He is special. He and his parents have decided that he will forgo his Jr. and Sr. year of High School. He will take his GED. Enter the Jr. College in Las Vegas and hope to be the number one baseball draft pick at the age of 18 in 2010. We can all wish him well.
His story reminded me of advice for new fathers given by Jimmie Piersal.
“A dad’s guide to changing a baby’s diapers.”
1. Spread the diaper in the position of a baseball diamond with you at bat. Then fold second base down to home plate and set the baby on the pitcher’s mound.
2. Put 1st base and 3rd base together, bring up home plate and pin the three together.
3. Of course, in case of rain you’ve got to call the game and start all over again.
Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a Dad. Dad is a son’s first hero, a daughter’s first love. Rose O’Kelly wrote: “Your dad is the man who does all the heavy shoveling for your sand castle and then tells you you’ve done a wonderful job.”
Steven Farrar in his book: “Point Man” writes: “It is the responsibility of parents and ultimately the father, to make sure the children grew up in an environment that will enable them to one day be competent, responsible parents in their own right.”
It’s Father’s Day and we celebrate you and honor your role in teaching your family and children about a loving heavenly Father. Let me ask you a couple of questions:
Do you play pitch and catch? Do you attend the T-ball game, the dance recital, the swim meet? I hope you do. Let me tell you why.
I remember a teenage girl in one of my past youth groups. She was bright. She was a leader. College would never have been a problem. But in her Senior year things came undone. Her parents had divorced when she was only 2 and her mother had one a wonderful job of parenting. But I remember her telling me this story.
“I remember my first dance recital. I was three. I was really excited. My dad was invited…but he never came. Over the years I learned to adjust…but he never came for a birthday or other important events in my life.”
In her senior year, her grades fell apart… she was trying to reconnect with her father. She even managed to go and live with her father and his new wife in the last part of her senior year. Why? She wanted a Father’s love. It never happened and she felt abandoned, she had an emotional hole in her heart.
Norman Wright in his book “A Dad Shaped Hole In My Heart” tells the story of Jairus an official at the synagogue who came to see Jesus with a desperate plea for his daughter, who was deathly ill. Before they reached the house, a friend arrives with the sad news that Jairus’s daughter had died. But, Jesus went to Jairus’s house anyway and brought the little girl back to life.
Wright reminds us that daughters were not valued in Jairus’s day and he was exposing himself to potential ridicule for going to so much trouble over on insignificant girl. But love for his daughter compelled him to take the risk. He would not abandon his daughter without trying.
Wright goes on to remind us that many daughters feel abandoned and forgotten by their fathers. Whether their fathers are simply emotionally absent or physically absent due to adoption, divorce, or death, these daughters go through life with emptiness in their hearts where a father’s love should have been.
Sit down with your son or daughter at dinner. Pick them up from the dance at 1:00 a.m. don’t let them find their own ride home. Read a bed time story; give a long hug when the kids at school have dropped them like a hot potato.
Godly fatherhood comes at a high cost. Time, energy, attention and focus are to be given if you want your child to know a God of love. You can not put it off till next year.
The Marine Corp is always looking for a few good men, so is the Lord in this only going battle against Satan. He wants you. One man can make a difference. Churchill saved England. Lombardi turned the Packers from door mats into legends. Joe Montana led the 49’s to four super bowl titles …. No one has executed the two minute drill more consistently.
One man can make a difference. God has given each father the responsibility to “direct your children in the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just.”
John Eldridge in his book: “Wild at Heart” writes: “A boy learns who he is from a man or a company of men. He learns self esteem and personal worth from a loving father. A daughter learns that she has value and worth when she is loved by her father. “A little girl looks to her father to know if she is lovely. She wants to know if her father will fight for her. This is the core to her self identity, the way she bears the image of God.”
Several years ago I officiated at a wonderful wedding with two wonderful people. My son was the groom’s best man. The bride was beautiful in her long white dress, studded with sequence and pearls. One of the musical solos was from “the Phantom of the Opera”. It was a great choice.
In our counseling time together “Holly” (not her real name) grew up without a father in the home. I asked: “Holly, what drew you and “Matt” (not his real name). Ho do you feel about being the only Anglo in a 5th generation Chinese family?” Her answer was full of maturity. “I want a husband who will be a father to my children. I want a husband with integrity, honesty care and love for me and our children.” She found him. She observed his life. Listened to him talk about his family. She found the person to fill the hole in her heart.
You should know a great Christian father is one who wants his children to know that God is a God of love. A great Christian father is one who is committed to telling his children that the Triune God is powerful enough to separate the waters of a sea and saved his people is also the one who can fill the hole in a person’s heart.
Our children need to hear of a savior who loved them enough to take the punishment for their sins without protest; was courageous enough to be crucified for them so that they could have peace with God their creator. It is not by accident that Paul, searching for the best example of fatherhood wrote: “husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.” Fathers, don’t exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them to the Savior’s waiting arms.” Watch your own step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get.” These are the lessons our children should know. These are the lessons that should be shared when fathers sit at home and when they walk along the road, and when they lie down and get up.
Several years ago, I read an article about some young male elephants in an African game park. In human terms, we would call these elephants, adolescents, teenagers. Now the article zeroed in on the fact that these adolescents had gone nuts. They were doing some very un-elephanty stuff. They’d been ripping at the rhinos and trashing and trampling the tourist. It took a while, but park officials thought they finally figured out why these elephants ran amuck.
As newborns, these elephants had been taken from one game part to another where they had been at risk, and were transferred to a new park. It was supposed to be a new home, a safe home. This park provided everything an elephant could ever want. It was a pachyderm’s perfect paradise-except for one problem. The father elephants, the bulls, had not been brought along. These young elephants had grown up without a grown up model of how an elephant should behave. Spiritually, the same can be said, for many children. They have everything their little hearts desire, but they are growing up without any spiritual example of a godly father and home.
You can be come a great Christian father or grandfather. You can point your children, your grandchildren to Jesus. You can keep your promises. You can be present and active in the home. Don’t become complacent. Love God. Love your wife. Love your children and demonstrate that love with care, time and hugs.
A pastor once asked his Sunday school pre schoolers to draw a picture of God. He was going to use it as an illustration in his Sunday sermon. The children tackled that project with enthusiasm. They drew rainbows and men with big hands. Finally, one girl showed a picture of a man dressed in a suit and tie. She explained, “I don’t know what God looks like, so I just drew my daddy instead.” That is an awesome responsibility.
Children need your time. They need your example. They need to see you imitate Jesus.
