Monday, June 9, 2014

That Day in June
By Lisa Boyer

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God….”

There’s this holiday in June that excites some people more than others…Father’s Day. We all have different views of Father’s Day and our view usually has something to do with, well, our fathers. But not all fathers deserve a Hallmark Card on Father’s Day.

For me, Father’s Day itself isn’t all that bad, but the days leading up to it can be just awful. The TV and radio ads tend to be more than I can bear. I know there are fathers that are as wonderful as those ads make fathers out to be (I’ve had the privilege to meet some of them), but unfortunately, they sometimes seem to be more the exception than the norm. So by midweek before Father’s Day, after I’ve heard ad after ad proclaiming how wonderful and deserving fathers are, I am ready to scream, “Not everyone has THAT kind of father!!!”

But this year, I have a plan to keep myself out of anger management classes…and it’s a reminder we all need, whether we grew up with a Hallmark Card father or not.

I am going to honor my Father this year. Yes, that’s right, my Father…my heavenly Father. I don’t deserve a Father like Him, but He adopted me anyway. Before I even knew that I needed Him, He made a way for our relationship through Jesus’ death on the cross. “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God….”

I love how this describes our relationship to Him:

“…the place of sonship…an unspeakable privilege, obtained by grace, through regeneration, and adoption. In this relation of nearness and privilege to the Father in the kingdom of His Son, believers are ‘sons of God’…. It is a relation, not of nature, but of grace.” [1]

Perhaps my Father’s Day anger management issue indicates that the little girl inside of me has never outgrown her desire to have a father who loves and cares for her. But God is and has been that kind of father to me and this year I will honor Him! He is enough…He is more than enough and more than I could have hoped for.

GOING DEEPER:
1.  If you don’t have God as your heavenly Father, will you begin that relationship today through Jesus?
2.  Today would be a wonderful day to express your appreciation to your heavenly Father for what He’s done for you.

FURTHER READING:

[1] “God the Father” by James Orr http://topicalbible.org/f/father.htm

Lisa has been married to Ted for over 20 years and they have two teenage sons. Lisa administers Fresh Start’s Facebook and blog, and loves hanging out with and impacting teenage girls for Christ.