When the word Father is mentioned it invokes such a plethora of emotions in the modern world. Father experiences vary from person to person drastically. Many haven’t had a father present at all. Some have had a father intermittently present, and many have had a father present but not functionally. Lots of people harbor malice toward their father because of broken promises and failure to provide stability, and others love their father’s, while simply accepting the dysfunction. This is often accompanied by shrugged soldiers and internal dialogue of, “it is what it is”.
We are at that pivotal time in history where something has to change. God is the ultimate Father, and his invitation to intimacy to wounded men ridden with shame, guilt, and addictions is beckoning. I can sense the Father’s love drawing me personally to explore the depths of His love. This isn’t just for personal edification but to also become that icon or reference point to those that don’t know how to access it. I have felt an overwhelming love for the people to whom I am called to be that father figure. This scripture stood out to me recently and seemed to jump off the page:
Ephesians 6:4 AMPC
“Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them [tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord.”
The part that hit was where it says, “rear them tenderly”. I’m sure that may sound like weakness to many men, but nothing could be further from the truth. When correction is not received, God does not abandon us. He gently works on us with love and compassion, in order to ultimately win us over to doing things His way.
We must reject the societal norms of manhood and fatherhood, and allow the ultimate Father to redefine it for us. No one ever outgrows the need for the Father’s love. No one can ever honestly say that they don’t need a human reference point to access that love. Although many try in order to protect themselves.
On this Father’s Day, may we look to the heavenly model of a father, and break what has become the “norm”, creating a new norm of men who love, show up for, and keep their words to their children. May we become men that leave a legacy of moral integrity and stability to transmit to our children and our children’s children. May a new trajectory be set for future generations by all of the father’s looking to God for the wisdom to succeed in the most important job of all, the humbling responsibility of the role of a father.
“A gentle father shows his strength in patience, love, and understanding.”
