Father’s Day
Father’s Day is just around the corner and this is a holiday that many celebrate while others find it hard to find happiness. Some celebrate becoming a father or revel in the company of father-figures in their lives while others struggle to find peace because they have lost a father, feel a longing to be a father, or have negative emotions due to having a poor father. While this holiday is one that every individual comprehends and celebrates differently, as believers, we can find joy regardless of our situations. In fact, Scripture provides comfort for those with both positive and negative views of Father’s Day; here are several ways we can celebrate and encourage our fathers as well as those struggling to cope with the holiday.
1. Celebrate the fathers in your life. Becoming a father is one of the greatest achievements a man can accomplish. Those with children can certainly attest to the joy being a father brings despite the hardships and challenges that come with it. Psalm 127:3 states that, “Children are a blessing from the Lord.” This brings a great honor and duty to those who become fathers, but it is crucial to realize that a biological father may not be the only father figure in your life. Men and women alike may have mentors they have grown up with or been discipled by that have guided them not only in their life decisions, but fostered a growth in their walk with Christ. In some cases, where a father was absent, grandfathers, uncles, or older brothers may have filled the void. These men have been placed in your life for a reason and honoring them by showing gratitude on Father’s Day is an admirable gesture.
2. Comfort those in difficult situations. Fatherhood isn’t easy. Raising a human from birth to adulthood is filled with challenges and outcomes can, unfortunately, be very difficult to cope with. Wayward children or terrible tragedies do not mean that a father is a bad father, but nonetheless, he may feel at fault or as if he is a failure. Other situations, such as infertility, may leave men feeling “less of a man,” or hopeless without the ability to have a family of his own. As aforementioned, father-figures deserve the honor and love that biological fathers have, especially in situations where they provide the fatherly advice, love, and reprimands that come with being a father. Psalm 33: 20-21 provides encouragement for both fathers struggling with challenges such as infertility and those who struggle with challenging situations. David writes, “Our soul waits for the Lord, He is our help and our shield. For our heart rejoices in Him because we trust in His holy name.” How beautiful a reminder it is that God is the refuge we have - the One who covers us in all situations! This passage is also a reminder that God’s timing may be different than our earthly timing so it calls us to rest in God’s timing.
3. Encourage those who have lost a father. We live in a fallen world and it is filled with death and despair. Losing a father or father-figure is a life-changing event that is, in no sense of the word, easy. Fathers have lifelong impacts on their children and the relationships, memories, and traditions formed over the years spent with your father may have lasting effects on your own children. Paul writes to the church in Thessolonica calling for believers to comfort each other when loved ones pass away.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 states, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed the rest of mankind do, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, so also God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.”
Though this passage may seem complicated, Paul is reminding us that, as believers, we will reunite with our brothers and sisters in Christ one day and that, until that day comes, our hope and comfort should be in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If you find yourself to be the one struggling with the loss of a father, take heart in these words and seek comfort in the only one who can truly comfort us, our Father in Heaven.
4. Remember who our heavenly Father is. As believers, we are called to see God as our Father. Many people may find this difficult when their own fathers failed them. Some fathers may have been abusive, angry, or altogether absent and these characteristics leave a bitter taste. If you find yourself longing for the father that your father failed to be and doubting that God can live up to your desires, take a moment to look at the promises in Scripture. Both the Old and New Testaments are littered with pictures of God being our Father. 2 Corinthians 6:18 tells us that, “I will be a Father to you and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” This is an echo of a promise in 2 Samuel, and establishes that God is indeed our Father. It would take a substantial amount of time to compile all of the qualities God our Father has, but they are not the same as those of an earthly father. Good or bad, fathers are human. Fathers are flawed. Fathers fail. God is perfect. James perhaps says it best, saying that, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” Indeed, God is unchanging, the epitome of what fatherhood should be. While earthly fathers will fall short, God will not.
5. Live out a legacy to fathers, father figures, and God. What is a legacy? In Lin Manuel-Miranda’s Broadway musical, Hamilton, a character answers it in a beautiful way. A legacy is “planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.” Though our Heavenly Father knows every minute detail of our lives, earthly fathers and father figures don’t. You shouldn’t just celebrate these wonderful individuals on Father’s Day, but honor them through their legacy. What have they done in your life to impact you? Is there a saying that once this man used to encourage you? Is there a tradition that he formed in you that you have formed in your own family? A habit that has become a fond ritual?
Your father helped you, knowingly or not, for the life you live now. Proverbs 23:24 reminds us that, “The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.” Be the reason your father has a legacy. What kind of seed are you? What fruit do you produce? On the flip side, fathers, what kind of legacy are you planting? As any parent knows, children may not always listen to works, but they are experts at mimicry. How is your own life bringing glory to God and presenting a worthy example for your children to follow?
Father’s Day is a day filled with many emotions for families across the world. Through the joy and the sorrow, the most important thing to remember is that God is our true Father and we, as believers, are adopted into His family. No matter your own situation, seek peace in our Heavenly Father and the comfort He alone can bring. Psalm 32:7-8 reminds us that, “You [God] are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” So, whether you are a father or not, celebrate all fathers this year and rejoice in the hope God has given us as our Father.
Happy Father’s Day!