Father’s Day: Adam
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 6/18/2017
Happy Father Day. Father’s Day is easily my favorite day of the year because my wife and kids all go out of their way to be nice and tell me what a great husband and father I’ve been. I think most dads need a day like that at least once a year.
It’s not easy being a dad. It seems like dads spend the first couple years of their children’s life encouraging them to walk and talk, and rest of their life telling them to sit down and be quiet. It’s no wonder in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary father comes right before fatigued. Of course, it also comes right after fatheaded, but I don’t know if that means anything.
Unfortunately, we do live in a culture that has really marginalized the role of fathers in the family. If you watch television, especially Disney shows, the father character is always portrayed as a fatheaded bumbling buffoon. There is even a name for it; media analysts refer to it as Homer Simpson Syndrome. Shows like the Simpsons have turned fathers and fatherhood in general into laughing stocks. We’ve come a long way from Father Knows Best and the Andy Griffith Show. But these portrayals couldn’t be further from the truth. You may not see it, especially when they’re young, but a father is more influential in the development of child’s life than any other factor. And the older your kids get the more they’ll appreciate you, dads.
ILL. Mark Twain once said, “When I was a boy of 14 my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man learned in 7 years.”
Father’s Day is a time to celebrate the huge contribution made to family life by our nation’s dads. A special moment of the year to say thanks for all the sacrifices made, for the hard work, for the long hours of parenthood freely given but rarely acknowledged. An opportunity to salute the simple, quiet nobility of being a father. To run the dad-flag up the dad-pole in the kingdom of dad-dom.
Five weeks ago, on Mother’s Day, I talked about Eve. Eve wasn’t just a mother, she was the mother. She’s your mother and my mother. She’s the mother of us all. In fact, her name means mother. Today, I’d like to talk about Eve’s counterpart and parenting partner—Adam.
When we examine the story of Adam in the first few pages of Genesis, I think we learn something about God’s intended design for fatherhood and it’s a far cry from what we see in many movies and television today. If you have a Bible or an app on your phone, open it to Genesis 2. We’ll be looking at verses from chapter two, three, and four. I’d like to highlight three roles God intended for husbands and fathers to fulfill as illustrated by Adam. First, a father is made to be a watchman!
• A WATCHMAN
Adam’s job was to protect the Garden of Eden. The Bible says, “The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it” (Genesis 2:15 NLT). The word translated watch over is the same word the Hebrews used for watchman; it meant to be vigil and alert, to be on the lookout for trouble like a sentinel on guard duty. And today, Dads are still called to be watchmen.
Fathers protect their families. They are the first line of defense, guarding their wives and children from unsavory lures and dangerous predators. I’m reminded of a story Ken Davis once shared that a lot of guys can probably relate to. He writes:
ILL. My sweet wife… wakes me in the middle of the night. “Listen!” Now, I’m in a sound sleep. I said, “What?” She said, “Shhh, shhh. There it is again.” Suddenly all the hairs on the back of my neck are standing straight up. I’m waiting for the axe to fall or a bullet to come. I know someone’s going to kill us right now. She says, “It’s in the garage. Oh, no, what if he’s escaped from somewhere? What if he has a chain saw?” Then she grabs me and says, “Go see.” I tell her, “If there’s a guy in my garage who has escaped from somewhere with a chainsaw, I am not going to confront him in a pair of Fruit of the Looms!” My wife said, “I’ve seen your shorts. It will probably scare him away.”
This is what Dads do, isn’t it? We watch over our family. Unfortunately, Adam fell down on the job.
Remember from Mother’s Day that Satan, either posing as or possessing a serpent, tempted Eve into eating the fruit God had forbidden. And yet, all throughout Scripture it’s Adam who is blamed for sin and corruption entering the world. Why? Because he failed to be the watchman God made him to be and instead did nothing. When Eve ate the forbidden fruit, she didn’t have to frolicking through the garden calling Adam’s name to get his thoughts on the matter. No, the Bible says, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it” (Genesis 3:6 NIV).
Adam was there the whole time. He should have been on guard. He should have grabbed that serpent by the throat and thrown him out on his butt! Instead, he said nothing. He did nothing. He just stood by and let Satan destroy the life they had. Instead of being a watchman, guarding and protecting his family, Adam was a weakling and his wife and children (and us) paid the price.
Don’t be like Adam. Don’t disengage. Don’t stand idly by while your wife or your children make bad decisions or choose bad relationship or wander away from God. Fight the battles you know you need to fight—the ones that determine the spiritual health of your family.
Be a watchman. That’s the first role God made fathers to fill. Furthermore, God made fathers to be workers.
• A WORKER
Adam was a worker right from the start. When God first placed Adam in the Garden, as we already read, God commanded Adam to tend the Garden. He had to cultivate it and care for it. Then God assigned him the job of zoologist, naming all the livestock and wild animals. After Adam’s failure to watch over the Garden and keep it safe, however, his work got a lot harder.
God tells him, “the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it… By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat” (Genesis 3:17-19 NLT).
Then we read just a few verses later, “The Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made” (Genesis 3:23 NLT).
In the wake of his disobedience, Adam became a farmer. I think there are some folks here who could attest to the struggle and sweat associated with farming. But it’s important to remember: even though Adam’s work became more difficult and the soil less productive, work itself wasn’t part of the punishment. God created Adam and put him to work right away. God never intended for Adam to just lay around the Garden all day while Eve fed him grapes fresh off the vine; rather, God honors work.
He even commands it. The New Testament goes so far as to say, “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10 NLT). We may not all be farmers, but I believe all men are hardwired to do something to provide for their families. One of the reasons I think God wired us for work is because he’s a worker. Jesus once said, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working” (John 5:17). Whether you log on or lace up for the day, you imitate God when you work. I believe it’s especially important for dads to model a good work ethic for their children.
In a Wall Street Journal article, James Wilson points out the urgent need in our society for families led by fathers: “An employed father helps persuade a young boy that getting a job makes more sense than hanging out on a street corner, even if the job they get does not pay much. When there is no father, the boy is likely to think that his goal is to do what other boys do–become a stud, join a gang, steal money and sell drugs.” Dads are supposed to be role models for our kids.
As a young pastor, Jerry Steen worked at a rock quarry in Celina, Ohio. Each night when he came home, his boys would look at him and say, “Boy, dad, you sure are dusty!” He’d smile at them and say, “Yes, I sure am dusty.” Then one Saturday morning, Jerry went outside to wash the car and saw his oldest son, four years old at that time, picking up some small stones in the drive and rubbing them onto his pants. Jerry asked, “What are you doing?” His son said, “I want to be dusty like you dad.”
Dads, if a son will admire and imitate his father for being dusty, he’ll admire and imitate you for anything. So let’s teach them by example the value of hard work because it gives them both dignity in a job well done today and the tools and character to win in the future as adults. Dads, be a worker.
Finally, God created dads to be worshippers.
• A WORSHIPPER
Even before there was any sort of formal worship service or ceremony, Adam use to literally walk with the Lord in the Garden of Eden while the cool evening breezes rustled the leaves. But what’s amazing—and more important—is that Adam continued to worship the Lord even after being kicked out of the Garden. A lesser man might have stubbornly rejected God after being punished by him, but Adam eventually accepted responsibility and restored his relationship with God. And in Genesis 4, we see the wonderful results of Adam’s faithfulness.
The Bible says, “Abel became a shepherd, while Cain was a farmer. At harvest time Cain brought the Lord a gift of his farm produce, and Abel brought the fatty cuts of meat from his best lambs, and presented them to the Lord” (Genesis 4:2-4 TLB).
Adam’s children, now full grown and possibly with children of their own, continued to worship the Lord. Where do you suppose they learned to worship? Dad.
Adam worshipped and he taught his children to worship. That’s what all dads were meant to do.
Max Lucado once shared a story about a father and son in his church. As he took communion one Sunday morning, Max heard a small boy behind him asking, “What’s that, Daddy?” The father explained the meaning of the bread. Then he prayed. The boy was quiet until the cup was passed, then he said again, “What’s that daddy?” His father again explained. Then he prayed.
When Max turned to give him a knowing smile, he realized the dad sitting behind him was David Robinson, then NBA basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs. On his lap was his six-year-old son, David Jr. Less than 24 hours earlier David had led the Spurs in scoring in a playoff game. In 24 hours, he’d be doing the same in Phoenix. But sandwiched between nationally televised, high-stakes contests was David, the dad—explaining communion to David, the son.
Which do you suppose matters most? What will make the biggest difference? Watching his dad play basketball or hearing his dad explain how and why we worship?
Nothing influences a child’s relationship with God or desire to worship more than his/her father. The statistics are staggering. In families where mom is a regular church-goer but dad isn’t, only 37% of the kids will attend church even sporadically when they grow up. On the other hand, in households where dad attends church regularly, 78-84% of the kids will still attend church when they grow up!
So Dads, be a worshipper and your kids will be too.
Conclusion:
For the dads here today who are watchmen, workers and worshippers—I just want to say on behalf of sons and daughters everywhere: Thank you! Thanks for looking out for us. Thanks for teaching us the value and dignity of honest work. Thanks for being the spiritual leader that we needed you to be. But I want to remind you that being a great dad is like shaving. No matter how good you shaved today, you’re still going to have to do it again tomorrow! So keep up the good work.
And if haven’t been the kind of father you know you should be, I want to challenge you to make a change. For the sake of your family and their future I want to encourage you to learn from Adam’s example—both good and bad. Be a watchman. Be a worker. Be worshipper. Be the man God made you to be.
Invitation:
As I draw this message to a close I want to acknowledge that not everyone here had a godly father growing up. If you grew up without a father or much of one, then Father’s Day may just be another fatherless day to you. But if that’s the case, I want to encourage you to find a Father in God. He longs to adopt you, to make you his child and invites you to call him not just Father, but Dad too.
If you’d like to become a part of God’s family, I’d love to walk you through the process. You can talk to me after church, call me at home, or come forward now while we stand and sing.
