Our Fathers

One of the difficulties we have in our society today is what is called "The Missing Fathers". So many children are born into this world and have no, or perhaps worse, a poor relationship with their fathers. It is not surprising that men have a hard time being dedicated fathers when they have no model or a bad model of what a father is to be. Parenting is a tricky responsibility in the best of circumstances and folks who have never experienced the true joy of growing up with a loving, dedicated father are surely at a disadvantage.

The truth is, we all have two fathers. One is earthly, likely biological, flawed and sinful. The other is perfect, without sin and loving beyond imagination. For those whose relationship with their worldly father has been less than ideal, chances are that was due to circumstances over which they had little control. However, with the other Father, the relationship is completely up to us. We get to decide what that relationship looks like. The other Father has expressed His great love for us and gives us the freedom to choose to return that love and share it, or not.

I am one of the fortunate ones. My earthly father cared deeply for me and provided all kinds of opportunity to learn and grow. He modeled faithfulness and dedication to supporting his family. And yet, the truth is, he was sinful, sometimes selfish, all together human. I'm blessed to have had a model and have been led to know that I too, am far from perfect. Today marks the tenth anniversary of Dad's death. I think of him often and especially when I find myself alone in the wood shop he left to me. I have been blessed beyond measure.

Then there's the second Father. The One who claims to be Father to us all. The One who loves us enough to let us choose if we desire a relationship with Him. It's likely that the readers of this blog will represent the full range from those who had loving, responsible worldly fathers to those who never met their fathers. Let me encourage all that the Father of us all is waiting to have you, if you haven't already, make the decision to have the relationship with Him that will last eternally. He is the source of all love and we need it more than ever.