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….”
1
John 3:1a (NIV)
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.
