George Thompson was extremely concerned when his new best mate, Ginger Tom cat Trevor gave birth to a litter of four kittens! It was at that stage that George realised that Trev was a girl and why the friend who had given him Trevor had a wry smile when they had told him the cat was a male. For they were not smiling out of a sense of having done a good deed, but out some dark place in their soul.
For a long time George struggled with this.
Men often struggle with some really serious stuff. Today is father day and I want to acknowledge fathers, grandfathers and men in general today. I want to recognise that while fatherhood is a natural thing it does not always come naturally to all fathers, and I’d like to take this time to discuss a piece of advice a Father passed onto his son about a building job that the son was going to be involved in and see how that might just make a difference in our current society,. We live in a nation where men struggle and where Christian men are not being all that they can be. A man, God has a plan for your lives, you have a part to play in that plan moving from paper to becoming the all you can be.
But how?
Well a fine example of how to address this can be found in 1 Chronicles 28:20 and 21. This comes in the form of a great bit of Fatherly advice From King David to his boy Solomon. This advice was given about building the temple. This is it!
”David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished. The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing person skilled in any craft will help you in all the work…..”
What I would like to address in this piece of Scripture are three things that David was able to pass onto his boy.
The first was this men “Be strong and courageous, and do the work” as a Christian men, and as a whole church community God has a work for us to do. We live in a society where many people are valued less and less. We only need to see that there is more concern for Snapper [fish] quotas than the ready availably of legal highs. We have real child poverty issues, we some of the highest youth suicide rates in the developed world, we are 20 / 100 000 a head of the United Kingdom and many of our ancestors left there because it was a sucky place to live, this nothing to be proud of. It is obvious we have a work to do, let’s not be discouraged or afraid to get stuck into it.
For God is with us in this work.
The second thing David told Solomon. “God will not fail you or forsake you in this.” The Bible tells us that God honours those who honour him. We have a part to play by ensuring that we continue in our Spiritual journey with God, this keeps us sharp and ready to do the work. I have two saws here one the handsaw it a great tool, cuts word really well the other the power saw is useless it won’t cut spit…unless you plug it in. Men pray, read and share God’s word, stay attached to the body of Christ that is the Church, Stay plugged into the power of God. (Start Saw)
The third thing David pointed out is that every worker has skills, and that they all have a part to play in the work. Our part in this is to ensure we are an on-going part of our family and our community, be there for those that matter! You may or may not have even had a great example of manhood, of fatherhood but take the time to be the example you wanted, be a man of influence in your community, be an attached and living part of a Christian Community, it’ never too late to start.
So men, Fathers and Grandfathers this presents us with a remarkable opportunity, let’s support one another, as a wider Church Family lets support our men, let’s reach out to men in the wider community who need help. Life for a bloke is often not the easiest, for a Father, for single man at times it’s a battle, we are often presented with opportunities to come alongside, 70% of our communities ministries clients are men. We all have tools that we can bring into a situation that will make a huge difference to one man, to a family, to a community… the results of which have lasting earthly and eternal consequences.
Dad’s do you regularly get involved in play with your children, homework, sports, are you a leader in an organisation they belong to, to other men is there a role you can play in society that be a legacy to kids without Father figures, men we all can leave a legacy for every child we are in touch with. To the wider church family is there some role that you can play that will speak into the community that you live in? The results of participating in Community and Family in ways that are caring and other people centred, result in others being blessed and communities being stronger, family’s being stronger. This is a path to a better New Zealand.
As you celebrate this Father’s Day, as you look to God the Father and recognise the part that he plays in your life, as you go forward over the next few weeks when you start that prayer with “Father”, think of a Father that you can pray for, if you are a Father or Grandfather think of what you can do in addition to what you are currently doing that will make a lasting difference in your life and the lives of those that you influence. To everyone else support a man in their life journey and change your community for good.
