Fatherhood: Why Even the Best Dads Fall Short
As Father’s Day is in the rearview mirror, we are reminded of our earthly fathers, which should be a reminder of our Heavenly Father. Many of you, myself included, have amazing fathers who stood on the Word of God and raised us in the admonition of the Lord.
These amazing men cared for us in ways we didn’t even understand at the time. For instance, how many of you were thankful for disciplinary measures, whether from your father or mother? However, as we’ve grown in wisdom, we realize discipline was for our benefit (Proverbs 23:13-14).
Sadly, some of you had worthless fathers. Maybe they were abusive or non-existent; but nevertheless, they were not there for you. This is heartbreaking! I have friends who experience difficulty viewing God as “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15) because of how their earthly father interacted with them.
A startling statistic I heard in a recent episode of The Counter Culture Mom Show was that 63 percent of teen suicides are committed by fatherless children and 85 percent of youths in prison were raised without dads (see video below at time stamp 2:00).
Host Tina Griffin goes on to explain the Bible’s clear message that fathers are to be the spiritual heads of their households, but the sad reality is that this is increasingly not the case.
Whichever category best describes your relationship with your earthly father, we can be reminded of our Perfect Father as a result.
Jesus teaches, “Or what person is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf of bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? So, if you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him” (Matthew 7:9-11, NASB).
For those of us who are/were blessed with loving fathers, we can see that relationship as a type, or representation, of our Heavenly Father. Isn’t it encouraging to know that even the most loving earthly fathers cannot love their children with the same pure love that God does? How encouraging is that reality? Even the good gifts given by our fathers, ultimately come from God (James 1:17).
On the other hand, those who have experienced poor fathers … realize that you can experience a Father-child relationship in its greatest form. God loves you greatly, and He will prove that to you repeatedly—for eternity.
If you have never come into relationship with God, do it now! Ask God to forgive you of your sins and place your faith in Jesus (our Lord), the Son of God who gave His life as a sacrifice for your sins (2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 10:8-10). There is no way to be right with God apart from Jesus Christ (John 14:6).
If you are a Christian who had a less-than-ideal father, who is still alive, then pray for his salvation. Share the Gospel with him as the Lord gives you opportunities (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Regardless of your background, rejoice for our Father is good!
“‘And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,’ says the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:18, NASB).
“Just as a father has compassion on His children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him” (Psalm 103:13, NASB).
