TOPIC:“Fathers Worthy of The Name”
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor thy father and mother…that it may be well with thee, and thou, mayest live long on the earth” (Ephesians 6:1, 2, 3)
According to the Christian calendar the 3rd Sunday in June is celebrated as Father's Day. Its observance dates back to the turn of the century when in June, 1910 Mrs. John Bruce Dodd of Spokane, Washington, suggested to the Ministerial Association of that city that a day be set aside to honor the Fathers of America. In 1936 a national Father's Day Committee was formed with headquarters in New York City. So on this day we express gratitude and appreciation to our Fathers for all they mean to us.
Now there are all kinds of Fathers, but on this special day I want to state that you will never become a Father worthy of the name, until you become a Christian Father by accepting Jesus Christ as your SAVIOR from sin. Then, you will become an inspiration to your wife and your children.
Let us consider some of the duties that are given to Fathers as found within the Word of God. I shall deal briefly with just four.
For one thing, according to the Bible the Father is to be an EXAMPLE. Every Father is to exemplify Christ in all that he does. Turn with me to Luke 1:6 where we read of Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, who are described by Luke this way: “And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless.” What a marvelous description of two dedicated parents. I wonder: Can that be said of us?
So the Father must try to be a model to copy. There is nothing so contagious as an example. Is it any wonder that John Henry Jowett became one of England's greatest preachers. His dad was a wonderful example of what a Father should be. He declared: “Whenever I wish to think of a Christian man, I think of my Father.”