Sunday Thoughts: Father’s Day

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her… (Ephesians 5:25 )

…husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church…(Ephesians 5:28-29)

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)

Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. (Colossians 3:20-22)

Simply put, love your wives and encourage your children.

---

A child performs better in school if his father takes an interest in his education. Children have more confidence when their fathers spend time with them and show them affection. Kids learn from watching their fathers’ decisions and listening to logical explanations. (Traci Gray, Fatherhood)

A sad snippet, but something to remind us that separation from your children can hurt.

If you have never been separated from your children for long periods of time, you may not understand, though I’m sure you share a deep love for your children. However, if you’re one of the thousands of fathers who are separated, divorced or incarcerated, you know exactly what I’m saying.

We long for the opportunity to patch a scraped knee, soothe a hurting spirit, or chase away the monsters under the bed. These little, yet significant moments pass us by as our children seem to grow up much faster when we’re apart. We would like to be there at that moment when our children need us, perhaps just once when they’re hurt from a bicycle fall or sad because of a classmate’s unkind remark—just once. But for most of us, those moments pass us by.

Sure, we have our visits, and if our children get hurt we comfort them, but visits aren’t real day-to-day life. They’re condensed time capsules, crammed with an abundance of activities, trying to make up for lost time. Just when the visit begins to slow to a normal pace, it’s time to take them home. All that fills the silence after the good-byes is the sad sensation that so many things were left undone or unsaid. You pledge to do them during the next visit, but by then she has grown so much that you need to find your bearings and get over the initial discomfort, and your visit time flies. (Randell Turner, The Hug That Changed My Life)

An exhortation:

On this Father’s Day, then, may we not only count the blessings of fatherhood, but also commit to honoring those attendant obligations every day. May we also examine the job we are doing as husbands first, and then as fathers. (Mark Alexander, Patriot Post 08-24 Digest)

---

I got some early Father’s Day gifts. The first gift was two large bags of 8 O’Clock Columbian Whole Bean Coffee. It’s my favorite, and yes, I grind my own. The second gift was two t-shirts, a “Global Warming” shirt and a Third Day shirt.

I also got a gift card to The Gospel Shop in Salisbury. It will probably be used on books but if not, music will work just fine.

Finally, I’m linking to my daughter’s page. She has written something for Father’s Day that deeply touched my wife and me. Click here to see the post.