In Jesus Holy Name June 18,2023
Text: Ephesians 6:4; 2 Corinthians 6:18 (The Message) Father’s Day
“A Hero Without a Cape”
It was on a Sunday, the 18th of February of 2001, that a car on the last lap of the Daytona 500 was hit from behind and was sent careening into the wall at 180 miles an hour. Dale Earnhardt, Sr., one of NASCAR's legends - "the Intimidator" - was dead. Even after 22 years he remains one of the biggest icons in NASCAR history.
Wealthy, respected, healthy-as-a-horse Dale Earnhardt had died at the top of his career. Earnhardt’s death on Feb. 18, 2001 is credited with the creation of the safety revolution in NASCAR, called the HANS safety system. This new system has yielded a 100 percent survival rate in at least a thousand crashes at NASCAR’s top race series over the past 20 years. (HANS stands for Head and Neck Safety device)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. reflected on his father’s legacy which forever will be linked to the longest stretch without a fatality in NASCAR history….The “soft wall” technology also created a SAFER barrier that uses energy-absorbing foam to reduce crash impacts.
A top NASCAR driver recently stated: : “As you look at Dale’s death, the last 22 years changed the way our sport looked from the safety and innovation side. Soft walls. Seats. Helmets. Gloves. Seat belts.
“Everything that NASCAR has done on the safety side is directly related to what happened with Dale Earnhardt. NASCAR realized they needed to invest in the stars of their sport because they didn’t need another situation like they had with Dale Earnhardt.” Safety remains his legacy to NASCAR.
There is another Father who created a glorious, legacy which began in the beautiful Garden of Eden, for His children. This was His dwelling place on the earth. Just as every human father comes home from work to spend time with his family so, Elohim, the Creator of the Universe would come and walk in the Garden with His most prized creation, His human family, Adam and Eve. They had been created in His image with the responsibility to manage His temple on earth. The Garden was His temple. It was a time of harmony, love, peace and joy.
The intimacy, unblemished love, harmony and peace did not last because of a fatal crash of ethics. Their world of safety was forever changed when Adam and Eve listened to the hissing voice of Satan, the angel who hated the Creator of the Universe. The result was that death now came into a once perfect world. The question? Could the Creator Father restore what was lost? What plan would He create to restore harmony, peace and eternity?
The Creator of the Universe did not send a fictional super hero with a cape. The Father chose to send His Son to His created world to restore what was lost. In order to restore what was lost His son would have to be born in human flesh. That happened at Bethlehem. John explained the “plan” with descriptive words: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us …He was in the world that He made but the world did not recognize Him…. We have seen His glory The one and Only from the Father.” We have seen His miracles. We saw Him raise the dead back to life. (John 1:14,10)
John’s gospel continues to tell the story of the arrest, crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus. He writes: Jesus was nailed to the cross. As He hung on the cross there were those standing who challenged Him. “Jesus save Yourself if you are the Messiah.” He refused because of the Father’s love for those created in His image, you and me. His death, was the result of our broken commandments, our selfish ethics.
This was the plan of the Father to save the Human race from hell and eternal death. Jesus rose from death and the grave and thus the Father’s promise of forgiveness and eternal life are now a reality for all who place their trust in Jesus, the Father’s Son. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus is the legacy of a loving Father.
On this Father’s Day, I hope you experience love and thankfulness. It is our Heavenly Father’s desire that every earthly father and mother imitate His Son Jesus and share His love with their children. “Fathers and mothers enter the child-rearing business at two different times. Mothers decide to be mothers long before dads do. A mother carries a baby for nine months, giving her an opportunity to grow with her decision to parent the new family member.
Dad, however, goes about his daily routine, pretty much unaffected by what’s going on inside the womb. Oh, he’s supportive and excited, but compared to Mom, he’s an observer. Until delivery time. Then Dad’s world takes on new meaning. He looks into the face of the new life and is faced with the realization: “I’m the father of this child.” You might call it a “delivery room discovery.” (Max Lucado devotional for Father’s Day)
At this point a good Father makes a big decision. He has to decide to become a Dad. And that decision sets up dominoes of decisions he will make for the rest of his life. It’s a rational choice to alter his life, schedule, direction, and priorities in order to be a good dad to the tiny life in his arms.
The decision to be a father is not just a delivery room decision. It is a daily decision. A century ago, dads were on-site parents, working the farm or running the family store. Children spent a great deal of their time alongside their parents, working together. But in our modern culture, employment distances most dads work away from their kids. Some dads leave home before the children are awake.
Throughout the day, every day, dads need to renew their “dad” decision. On the way home from work, dads have to decide to take off the work hat and put on the “dad” hat. It’s a decision to manage his time, carefully reconciling work with the priority of family.
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.”
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 cannot put it off till next year.
John Eldridge in his book: “Wild at Heart” writes: “A boy learns who he is from a man. 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 “Jennie” (not her real name) grew up without a father in the home. I asked: “Jennie, what drew you and “John” (not his real name). How 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.
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.”
When God’s human race needed a rescue plan to save them from their destructive behavior and death, He did not send a fictional hero with a cape. He sent His Only Son whose only cape was a gifted purple robe and a fine linen burial shroud. He rose from death with a glorified resurrected glorified body.
This is our Heavenly Father’s legacy to the human race, His name is Jesus. As fathers and grandfathers may your legacy be love, integrity as you “walk with your children teaching them by your words and actions that Jesus is the only answer to life’s eternal questions.
(offerings and hymn)
