Fatherhood Ain't No Joke
Introduction
Dad jokes are the best. If you have never Googled dad joke challenges, Father's Day is a great day to. Dad jokes are corny and they are just too dry and corny not to laugh. A few that I find humorous are:
"Dad, did you get a haircut?" "No, I got them all cut!"
"I don't trust stairs. They're always up to something."
"Did you hear the rumor about butter? Well, I'm not going to spread it!"
"What do you call someone with no body and no nose? Nobody knows."
"What time did the man go to the dentist? Tooth hurt-y."
"How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh? Ten tickles."
"Why did the math book look so sad? Because of all of its problems!"
"What do you call cheese that isn't yours? Nacho cheese."
"How does a penguin build its house? Igloos it together."
"I made a pencil with two erasers. It was pointless."
"I had a neck brace fitted years ago and I've never looked back since."
"How do lawyers say goodbye? We'll be suing ya!"
"When does a joke become a dad joke? When it becomes apparent."
https://www.countryliving.com/life/a27452412/best-dad-jokes/
While we love dad jokes, being a dad is no joke.
Genesis 1:27
And so God made man in His Own image...
Humanity was created in the image of God, made to give expression of the characteristics of God. We see aspects of God in our relationships. This is true of the father-child relationship. God is the Source of our existence, our Provider, The One who corrects us, and Who loves us unconditionally. We can see these characteristics in human fathers and especially in godly fathers.
It is no joke to be made in the image of God. It is no joke to be called to give expression of these characteristics of God as we relate to another human life. This morning I would like to talk to you on the topic.
Fatherhood Ain't No Joke!
God is the Source of our existence.
Colossians 1:12 KJV
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light...
God is described in the Bible as our Father. This means that He is the Source of our existence. God is the Father of creation. He is the Father of every human life. The Father of lights. The Father of spirits. The Source.
During this past Mother's Day, we were asked to share a picture of our mother and ourselves. I talked to my dad and asked him if he could look through some old albums and find a photo of mom and I. He sent me a picture of my mother when she was pregnant with me. I sent her a text that said, "Happy Mother's Day! I wouldn't be here without you." It was a dad joke.
The parent-child relationship reflects many aspects of our relationship with God because human connections are made to reflect the relationship that we have with God.
It is true we would not be here without mom, but it is just as accurate that we are here because of dad. Dads are, in a sense, the source of our biological existence through the wonder of procreation. When a paternity test is done on a child, it determines through DNA evidence that a particular male has a biological connection to that child, that child finds the source of his existence in that male. It is in this sense that we honor our fathers today because we are here because of them. Thanks, Dad.
And the source doesn't stop there, because the initial contribution of DNA is not all that defines fatherhood. Some fathers may not have given their DNA to a child, and they are fathers nonetheless! Because they become the continued source of their childrens' lives by the continued gifts of their blood, sweat, and tears. Oh, thank you, fathers, today who have adopted a child and loved that child, you have become their source of hope and life!
Fatherhood ain't no joke!
God provides for us.
Luke 11:9-13 NKJV
9 "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"
In this text, the Lord Jesus gives a prescription for the practice of prayer. He says that we should ask, seek, and knock. He uses an aspect of human fatherhood to describe an aspect of God's character--God's giving nature. He does not elevate the fallenness of our humanity to a flawless state but tells us that even in our sinfulness, the image of God is somehow intact, and there are spontaneous displays of God's giving nature.
Which of you dads, being evil, will not provide the basic necessities of life for your children? Bread, fish, and eggs? How much more will your Heavenly Father give the gift of Eternal Life to those who ask?
Oh, fathers, we have a great responsibility to display this attribute of God to our children and to provide for them!
Fatherhood ain't no joke!
One thing that I never did as a child was worry that I might go hungry. I honor my dad this morning. He went to work to provide for our family. He fed us. He clothed us. He kept a roof over our head. He was our provider. Thank you, dad.
Provision means that one must give. God gives. Fathers, when they are giving expression of the image of God, give of themselves to provide for those for whom they care.
I remember it like it was yesterday. It was during the holidays when we went to the local Kroger grocery store that we regularly visited. As we were leaving the store, my dad stopped and rolled his window down and handed cans of food to a couple of backpackers. As a small child, that one moment of kindness impacted my heart in ways that have never left me. I saw my provider take of his substance, food that he had purchased with money that he had worked hard laboring with his hands to earn, and give to someone who would never be able to repay him. He would never see those individuals again. They had nothing to offer him, and yet, he gave. I believe that that moment helped shape my view of things, and on my best days, when I am reflecting the image of God, I am that way too. I want to give to help others.
Dads, make it a point to allow your children to see you give. Make giving such a part of your life that it just happens spontaneously.
Fatherhood ain't no joke!
My dad gave to global missions. My dad gave his tithes and offerings regularly to the local church that we attended. We received an update in the mail ever-so-often from Tupelo Children's Mansion because my dad supported children there who were orphans. Dad, I don't know any other way to live. Thank you for modeling that for me.
Fatherhood ain't no joke!
My dad would regularly give Sister Wilmoth a ride to church. She could not walk. And my dad would go to her house and into the room where she was, pick her up physically, place her in her wheelchair, wheel her down the ramp, and pick her up and put her in our vehicle, and drive her to church. Over and over again. Dad, thanks for modeling that for me! On my best days, when I have brought someone to church or carried someone who cannot carry themselves, I learned it from you. I don't think you even realized you were teaching me!
Dads, we have a responsibility to care for those who cannot care for themselves and allow our children to see us doing it!
Fatherhood ain't no joke!
I watched my dad take his talent for working with his hands, on cars, in carpentry, and electrical, and give of his skills by helping family members build things. He built things at the church we attended. I love doing projects and helping others. I don't know any other way to live. Thanks, dad!
Fatherhood ain't no joke!
My dad used to pick up the rent from his father-in-law's rent-house. The renters were first-generation immigrants from Mexico. Dad, my love for the immigrant community in the United States came from you. I watched you go above and beyond in taking care of them. In bringing their children to church. Thank you!
I watched my dad spend time with people, listening to their stories. I watched my dad as he cared for his parents. He used to take me on the Sunday School bus with him as he and my mother canvased the neighborhood, picking up children to bring to church.
I learned unconditional love from you, dad. You were the Sunday School Superintendent, and anyone who got in trouble was delighted to come to your office. You displayed the grace of God. Thank you!
Anything that I ever do right, I owe to you!
Fatherhood ain't no joke!
Not only is God our Source and Provider, but He is there to offer correction when our path is leading us in the wrong direction.
God corrects us.
Proverbs 3:12 NLT
For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
Fatherhood ain't no joke.
Dad, we have the responsibility to correct our children. We have the responsibility to train them. Our discipline of them should not be harsh or rash, but out of love. I am grateful that my dad taught me that I should not play in traffic. I am thankful that my dad taught me not to play with fire. He did not want me to be run over or burned.
God's discipline of us is always from a posture of love, not out of flippant anger. God's correction is an aspect of His mercy. He remembers our frame that we are dust. Dad, our children's training should always be on a level that they can understand, not overbearing, not in spite, or meanness, but full of the fruit of the Spirit.
Ephesians 6:4 NLT
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.
Colossians 3:21
Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
We must love our children enough to tell them the right way in the right way. The way that encourages them and does not discourage them from living for God. That is not easy, because we are still growing up too. It takes prayer to do it right, dad. God will give you wisdom if you ask.
Fatherhood ain't no joke.
1 Thessalonians 2:10-12 NIV
You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
Three keys to godly correction:
Encourage
Comfort
Urge
The reason correction is not harsh is because of godly fathers love their children unconditionally.
God loves us unconditionally.
Lloyd John Ogilvie wrote a book some years ago titled The Autobiography of God. In it he goes through the parables of the Lord Jesus and tells how each parable describes some aspect of God's character. I think my favorite chapter is The Prodigal God. In the chapter, he breaks down the story that we call the Prodigal son. He says that the word prodigal should really be used of the Father in the story, rather than the son.
The word prodigal means "spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant." It also means "having or giving something on a lavish scale." While the son in the story may have been prodigal in one respect, the Father was all the more lavish and wastefully extravagant. He gave the younger son his inheritance. He gave him the choice to leave. He allowed him to come home in his brokenness. He protected and covered his son with love. He threw the best party for his son upon his arrival. To some, he seemed wasteful, but His love was unconditional.
God's love is unconditional. Dads, we are called to love our children unconditionally. There will be moments when they do not do what we wish they would, but we must love them anyway. There will be moments when they break our hearts, but we must love them. We must leave the door open to a relationship with them, always. That's the way our Heavenly Father is, according to Jesus. He is waiting for His wayward child to come home. He does not love less or more based on performance. His love is constant.
Sometimes what your child needs is not for you to fix everything. They just need you to be present. They need you to be constant. God does not change.
Psalm 103:6-14 NKJV
6The Lord executes righteousness
And justice for all who are oppressed.
7He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the children of Israel.
8The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
9He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.
11For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
14For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.
God loves us unconditionally.
My father-in-law is not here this morning. He is facing a difficult season in life as he ages. Yesterday, we had the opportunity to spend time with him. My wife has often told me about the expression of his unconditional love. She would make mistakes, sometimes choices that would break his heart. When she would go to him and apologize, he would immediately say its okay and forget it. She tells me that this is the reason it is so easy for her to believe Scriptures like:
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness..." She saw it demonstrated in her dad. Thanks, dad!
Fatherhood ain't no joke!
Conclusion
Well, dad, are you up for the challenge? God has placed a high value on you by allowing you to have that child in your care. There is no one quite like you, and no one can give expression of God's character the way you can.
It is His Spirit that empowers us to do it right. Let us pray this morning that He will fill us so that we can.
I got the idea for the four points here: https://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/what-defines-a-father/
