Father’s Day has in the last two years become even more special to me, really for a couple of reasons. One is because the last couple of years I have been a father and this day serves as a reminder of just how much of a blessing fatherhood really is. A second but prominent one is because I have a godly father battling cancer that I want to know the impact he has made on my life while I can still show and tell him. There are so many people in this world and particularly in our country who have never had the blessing of having a full-time father in their home to play with, to be taught by, and to be able to enjoy like many of us have. Hopefully we appreciate and show our appreciation throughout the year, but Father’s Day gives us that special opportunity to make it known. A good and godly father, though, is simply a reflection of the heavenly Father, the Father of all. The following is a sermon I preached a few years ago on Father’s Day and I hope it can remind us of just how blessed we are to have godly fathers and to be children of the Most High God.
Title: The Father of All
Text: Genesis 1:26-27
Main Point: The account of man’s creation defines God’s divine Fatherhood to all mankind. The fact that life was formed and done so in the image of the One forming it constitutes paternity. Therefore as our Father God maintains authority over our lives and displays many different aspects of the fathering relationship toward us. These attributes of His Fatherhood are comforting to know and also reminders of the attributes of our earthly fathers as they seek to reflect God’s Fatherhood.
Discussion Points:
§ He is the Father of Life – yes life was created by the Father, but even more so is it important to the Father. Just after creating man in Genesis 1:26-27 His view of life was pictured in vs. 28 in which He provided for the good of man. The precious nature of life is not relative to God, He holds it in high esteem. Fathers who seek to emulate the Heavenly Father will view the lives entrusted to their care with the same esteem. Those children will be valued as a blessing not viewed as a burden. To prove this fact one only has to look to those who so earnestly desire children but cannot biologically produce them. Life is too precious a gift for it to be despised and neglected, therefore godly fathers will appreciate and celebrate it with their commitment.
§ He is the Father of Love – God’s love toward His creation is an undeniable fact proven throughout the scriptures – 1 John 4:7-8; John 3:16; Romans 8:39. Why does God love us? Because we are His creation, His children, and that relationship carries with it a natural affection. Man did not and does not have to do anything for God to love us because it is a natural love. Children do not have to do anything to receive their father’s love because it comes naturally. It is that love from the Father toward man and from all fathers toward their children that brings forth fruit for good.
§ He is the Father of Law – God’s value of His children in Israel was seen in His continued attempt throughout history to preserve them through law (Deuteronomy 6:24). Godly fathers are those who seek to in all ways preserve life in their children through similar law. The forefathers of this nation recognized the necessity of law for the preservation of this nation and penned the “Charters of Freedom” which are documents of law. Godly fathers today will recognize the necessity of solid, unalterable law in the rearing of children for their own preservation and the preservation of a moral society. Ephesians 6:4 – by instilling in them respect for God’s law they will then be respectful to the laws of the home and of the land in which they live.
§ He is the Father of Liberty – God has, through law, provided liberty unto all who are willing to obey His will and submit to His charge (Galatians 5:1). Our founding fathers recognized the benefits of liberty in forming this nation as a republic as articulated later by Abraham Lincoln – we are a nation “conceived in liberty.” Likewise godly fathers recognize the necessity of some progressive degree of liberty for their children as they grow. The liberty of which I speak is not liberty to sin, but to make independent decisions whereby responsibility can be learned. By at times stepping back and allowing children to make decision (and mistakes) fathers equip them to think independently and to think through situations rather than acting on whim or conscience. God gave free will with the expectation that man would be blessed by good decisions and learn from bad decisions. Children have the capacity for the same when given certain abilities to choose by their fathers.
It goes without saying that God, the Father of all, stands forevermore as an example of what a father should be to his children. Thanks be to God for godly fathers who have committed themselves to that example and have impacted our lives eternally!
-Andy Brewer
