The Perfect Dad
Genesis 22:1-14, Psalm 44:1-3, 5-8, Hebrews 12:1-13
Fathers come in all shapes and sizes. They come in every race, nationality, and color. They live in big cities and small towns. They work all sorts of jobs and play all sorts of roles in the family. Sometimes they are stern disciplinarians and at others they might be thoughtful listeners. Some are quiet, and others…not so much.
I guess that’s the comparison I notice most between my father-in-law and my dad. Jen’s father likes to kind of stay in the background. If he has something to say, he’ll say it. However, if others are leading a conversation, he may stay quiet. That’s not my dad. My dad is a talker…through and through. Memorial Day they came for a quick visit. For most people, a quick visit might mean 10-15 minutes. You say hello, say a few words, take time for a something to drink, say your goodbyes, and away you go. A quick visit for my Dad is probably about 3 or 4 hours. At Memorial Day, I think Dad had Kenny Lynch’s ear for hours on end. But no matter…it was good to see them and especially Dad.
A couple of years ago, we got news that no one likes to hear. Dad had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. It was in the early stages, but the word cancer still draws fear into the hearts of most people, mine included. He underwent a new procedure involving cryogenics…freezing. He had no chemotherapy…no radiation. After a few treatments, his PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) was practically zero, and his cancer was considered to be in remission.
Over a year ago, his PSA went up unexpectedly. The cancer was back. But again, because of early diagnosis, he received radiation treatments to clear up the few small spots present. His dad lived to be a fairly active 94, and the long running joke between us is that he will live long enough to make my life miserable. His cancer from time to time has made me start to doubt that prediction.
My Dad and I are obviously close. We weren’t always, but I have really frown to appreciate and love my dad.. A lot of times, I think that we take our dads for granted. I know I did. We just kind of assume that they will always be there for us. As kids, we have very little idea just how great…are the sacrifices that most of them have made for us. As dads, they have all faced some tough decisions and made choices that have affected their kids for years to come.
Abraham was just such a father. He and his wife Sarah had hoped and prayed to have children but were barren into their old age. The Lord had made a promise to Abraham and Sarah that they would have children, and that their offspring would be a numerous as the stars in the sky. But as time passed, they grew older and still there was no child. So Sarah gave one of her servants (Hagar) to Abraham so that she might have a son for him. Hagar bore Abraham a son, Ishmael. However, this was not the son that the Lord had intended.
About 12-13 years later, when Abraham was 100 years old, Sarah gave birth to a son, Isaac. Isaac was their dream come true…the fulfillment of God’s promise to the two of them. Oh, the joy they must have felt at his birth. But remember, being a dad requires sacrifices and some tough decisions to be made.
Genesis 22:1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
I know that this seems like an unbelievable request from God. He promised Abraham a son that would carry on his lineage forever, then he asked Abraham to kill the son that he had provided. I cannot imagine what all went through the mind of Abraham, but it says in 3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.
The next morning…not the next week, the next month, or the next year…not when he had had enough time to think about it…but the next morning, he saddled up the donkey and headed off to a place only God knew. He took his son, Isaac, whom he loved greatly, and brought him to Mount Moriah. Abraham built an altar, arranged wood on it and bound up Isaac with rope. Abraham was ready to slay his son as the Lord had commanded. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
There are men out there who work two and three jobs, to give their children the newest of gadgets to play with, the nicest of homes to grow up in, and the best educations to advance their careers. For the past two or three generations, society told us that we have to work hard, and by the sweat of our brows, we will make a life for our children that is better than the one we had. But being a good dad has nothing to do with the possessions, homes, and schooling. Being a good dad has everything to do with the fear of God…with a father being obedient first and foremost to God.
I’m sorry, but that really is all that matters. The rest is just the icing on the cake, and unfortunately when you give your kids too much icing, they’ll eventually become sick. Children cannot be raised by television. Kids today do not need the newest iPads or cell phones. They will certainly ask us for these things…but kids…OUR kids do not need more presents. They need their dads to be more present. Dads can’t just sit in a room drinking beer and watching football and tell the world that they are great dads because they are around. Kids today do not need good dads, they need great dads. Our children today need men mature in the faith…men who love, fear, and obey the Lord.
Back on October 4, 1997, there was a Promise Keeper event called Stand in the Gap. It was held on the National Mall in Washington DC. I was one of eight men from my home church to go. My dad was one of the others. The mall was packed with men shoulder to shoulder, as far as they eye could see. There were giant screens placed all over, and we were probably more than a half a mile from the actual stage. There were speakers like Max Lucado, Joseph Stowell, Tony Evans, Bill McCartney, and many others. At one point, one of the preachers asked if God can see us all here today, do you think that he would want to give us a big high five for how we have gathered? He said no. Men can gather for any reason. God didn’t want for men just to gather. God wanted us to bow down…to lie down before him in repentance for our sins. WOW. So over a million men, laid down, faces down on the ground praying for forgiveness. Without giving it a moment’s notice, I hit the ground, it was not until we had finished praying that I realized that my dad was there on the ground as well, praying and crying. I will never forget that day.
My dad is good talker and a good mechanic. He has been a hard worker and has provided for our family in good times and bad. He has been a good husband to my mom since 1958, and has served the church for many, many years. However, the efforts of any person are of little value, if they do not know the Lord. The hard work and determination of a father your willingness to make the tough decisions and the necessary sacrifices is of no use, if you do not fear and obey God. In being a dad, God might ask you to give up all you ever wanted…but if you are obedient to him first…he will give you more you could ever imagine.
Originally, I had wanted to share with you what I thought were the attributes of the Perfect Dad. But to be honest with you, there are not any here on earth. The perfect dad is our father in heaven. He is calling us to faith and disciplines us, not so that we might like him…but that we might BE like him.
10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. Hebrews 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Not only is today Father’s Day, but it is also Trinity Sunday. We celebrate the Father Son, and Holy Spirit. And God, the Father has given us the example of his son, Jesus Christ, to follow in faith, and he has empowered us to live and act in that same faith through his Holy Spirit. Through disciplining our hearts, our minds, and our lives, God wants to make us holy dads….dads who stand apart from the rest of the world…dads willing to do and say the right thing, even when it hurts. Through us, God hopes to share his holiness with our families…and the world. May we be faithful examples to our children, and may we be faithful examples of holy fear and the love of God to those around us. May our Father in heaven may be glorified by our lives.
I give thanks for my dad who has shown me so much. We give thanks for our fathers, but we pray for everyone…the father and the fatherless…the child and the childless…that God’s love and grace be upon us this morning…and always.
No comments:
Post a Comment