1 John 3:1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.(NKJ)
My father passed away a few years ago, I can´t help but think of him every so often, especially on Fathers Day.
My father did not have riches or glory in the world, but he did have qualities that moth and rust could not destroy.
He grew up as a preachers son, and his father passed away when he was 17 years young . He did not finish high school, but instead became a volunteer firefighter in California, joined the Navy, and then became a commercial fisherman.
Married with several children, (we are six in total) he obtained his high school diploma in his late 30´s and worked in a factory as a welder.
My father modeled work and responsibility, but the one thing we saw him do and that is fresh in my mind to this day, was watching him read his Bible.
As a child, I would ask him Bible questions, and he had the answers. I am sure some of my questions were annoying, but my father had all the patience in the world.
My father left us a spiritual heritage in the Lord which is worth far more than any worldly wealth. He left us a love for Jesus, and a desire to know Him more.
As a parent myself of a twenty year old son, I try to do the same my father did. I read my Bible, pray, and share the love of Jesus not only with my son Richard, named after my father, but to those around me and to those that will listen and now read.
I would like to pass on advice to all the fathers reading this. Show your children Jesus, pass on a spiritual heritage that cannot be shaken. When your children are adults, they will remember you reading your Bible, and will seek to do the same.
I know my dad is enjoying life to the fullest in the presence of his Heavenly Father. So I say to my Dad, Happy Fathers Day, and may every father reading desire to draw closer to your heavenly father, this day and every day.
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Diane L. Harris
June 25, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Yvette, I hope that some father(s) will read this and realize that struggling to buy your kids more stuff than they need is never as important to their future as modeling the spiritual life you hope they will have.
mister2mike
June 23, 2009 at 12:32 am
Happy Father’s Day to your father still. My father had already passed away as well. But praise the Lord because our God is the Father to the fatherless!