Of Fathers and Children Father’s Day 92

The great Swiss theologian, Karl Barth, was once asked to sum up in a few words all he had written in the field of theology. This was his summary: “Jesus loves me, this I know; for the Bible tells me so.”

That is the greatest truth of the ages, and it is the essence of Christianity. But before a child can ever understand that Jesus loves him, he’s got to know that his parents, and especially his Dad, loves him with the same kind of love. The simple truth of the matter is that the way a child feels about his father is the way he is probably going to grow up feeling about God.

If a child grows up wondering whether his Dad really loves him, or wondering about the quality of that love, he’s going to have a hard time believing that God loves him. If a child grows up believing that he has to measure up - either in school, or on the playing field - before his Dad will really love him, then chances are that he will have the same view of God. He’ll think that God only loves those who measure up.

Fathers hold in their hands a tremendous power to shape not only the self-image of their children, but also their concept of what God is like. Because in many ways, a father is a role model for God in his child’s life.

There is a beautiful story in the Scriptures of a father who became a model of God for his children. He is the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son. The story is found in Luke 15:11-32.

4 qualities that made him, as a father, a model of God for his children.

1. He didn’t have ideal children

- neither does God

Matthew 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.

- sometimes we become impatient when our kids don’t measure up to our ideals.

- we have in mind a vision of what “perfect” kids are supposed to be like

- the object of fatherhood isn’t to produce perfect kids; it’s to point imperfect kids in the right direction - toward Jesus Christ.

- the number one priority of a father is to make sure that he leads his kids toward God, not away from Him. He needs to do all he can to see that his kids grow up knowing the Lord.

2. He gave them room to make their own choices

- so does God

- the father knew that his son’s request was a bad idea, but he let him go through with it anyway. He respected his son enough to allow him to decide for himself, even though the decision would bring failure.

- God does the same with us.

- people ask: Why does God allow so much evil in the world?

- answer: Because he allows us to make our own choices.

3. He never gave up on his children when they went wrong.

- neither does God

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

- he was out on the road every day looking for his lost son to come back.

- he was praying for his son.

- the son, when he reached the end of his rope, knew his father well enough that he never questioned that his father would take him back

- when the older son became disgruntled, he went to him to reason with him.

4. He was tender and compassionate towards his children.

- so is God

Psalm 103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.

- he threw his arms around his son and kissed him

- physical affection from fathers highly important in the emotional well-being of children.

- e.g. studies of women who become promiscuous reveal an absence of physical affection from fathers.

- it’s one thing to be compassionate to a child who is being good, it’s another when he’s being bad.

- the father listened and didn’t become angry with the older brother

1. He didn’t have ideal children, but he loved them anyway.

2. He gave them room to make mistakes; he didn’t force his will upon them

3. He never gave up on them when they went wrong.

4. He was tender and compassionate with them, whether they were bad or good.

If the greatest truth of Christianity is “Jesus loves me, this I know; for the Bible tells me so”, then the privilege and responsibility of being a father is to raise children who can say “Jesus loves me, this I know; for my father told me so.”