Celebrate Father's Day (Even If You Don't Have One)

By: Erlinda Mejia-Olson

PSALM 68:4-6 ~  “Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name YAH, And rejoice before Him. A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation. God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.”

Is Father's Day worth celebrating even if you are not blessed with an earthly father?

By the grace of God, I am blessed with an earthly father.  Though I know he is not a perfect father, but God gave him to me to be my father in this life on earth.  Though I have reached this full age of maturity, however, I still have this inkling in my heart that creeps in from time to time, telling me that I still don’t know my father well.  I believe I should.  I’ve asked myself a lot of times, “Do I really know my father as much as I know my mother?  As the old cliché, “it is never too late until it is late”, is true.  I have noticed lately, that the Lord has presented various circumstances—good and bad—that led me to know my father in ways I never thought I could.  I asked the Lord to unveil my heart of presumptions so I could get to know him more deeply—so I may improve the way I behave towards him, my thoughts, my feelings, so I may love him more in the Lord.

I remember my father telling us stories every time he came home from work.  He would kept on and on with all the stories he could think of from his own childhood memory bank, until my siblings and I fell asleep—those simple little things he did that avail much value in the heart of a child—were all worth it.  I remember a lot of wonderful good things he has done for us—things that no money can buy, irreplaceable, and worthy of remembrance—things that brought his children to where we are now in our lives.  I always remember my father telling us:  “No matter what will happen, try to finish your school all the way to college.  If I need to work hard, I would.  Education is one of those things in life that can never be taken away from you.”, and indeed, he is right.

By the grace of God, my father is now a Saved Christian and so is my whole family.

Having a Saved Christian earthly father (your entire family for that matter) is one of the greatest and sweetest gifts, any person can ever have in this life.  That is my belief anyway and my case.  I praise the Lord for His amazing grace!

While, for those who don't have an earthly father, don’t lose heart.  Because you do.  You can have one right now.  Our Heavenly Father is waiting for you to come to Him. Remember, He gave His only begotten Son to die for us because He loved us (John 3:16).  He offers a free gift of eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ so you can be adopted into the family of God forevermore and Christ Jesus offers the only way to the Father (John 14:6).

Let us be mindful that our earthly father is just a vessel of God’s grace for us—so God can use them as a channel of His grace, so He can materialize His will and purpose for those who are His children saved by grace in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:28).

Today, I am honoring this wonderful man in my life—my father.  But above all, this occasion has given me a deeper sense of celebration, a new meaning, for ultimately, I am honoring the ONE who has the power to give and take life, the ONE whom I will hold my life accountable someday, the ONE who is waiting for me in Heaven.  My dearest Father in Heaven—the Perfect and the Greatest Father any human being can ever have in this world.

Regardless of whether you have an earthly father or you don’t, I encourage you to celebrate Father’s Day.  As I looked anew for God as Father in the Bible, a gracious paternal relationship as a follower of  the Lord Jesus grew into an intimate belonging with my real Heavenly Father.

A person can die lonely in pursuit of a father’s love but not us. When we embrace God as our Father through Jesus Christ, we are finally free to discover who we really are. Therefore, I dare to invite you to join me in the family of God.  I believe that He loves us the way He loves the Lord Jesus, otherwise He wouldn’t have sent Him to die for us (Romans 5:8). 

Happy Father’s Day to our Heavenly Father!

and

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!

John 15;1-18

John 17:26

John 16:26-27

Mark 15:36

Galatians 4

Song:

THIS IS MY FATHER’S WORLD

Words: Maltbie D. Babcock, 1901

Music: Franklin L. Sheppard, 1915

This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears

All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.

This is my Father’s world: I rest me in the thought

Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;

His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world, the birds their carols raise,

The morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker’s praise.

This is my Father’s world: He shines in all that’s fair;

In the rustling grass I hear Him pass;

He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father’s world. O let me ne’er forget

That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.

This is my Father’s world: the battle is not done:

Jesus Who died shall be satisfied,

And earth and Heav’n be one.

This is my Father’s world, dreaming, I see His face.

I ope my eyes, and in glad surprise cry, “The Lord is in this place.”

This is my Father’s world, from the shining courts above,

The Beloved One, His Only Son,

Came—a pledge of deathless love.

This is my Father’s world, should my heart be ever sad?

The lord is King—let the heavens ring. God reigns—let the earth be glad.

This is my Father’s world. Now closer to Heaven bound,

For dear to God is the earth Christ trod.

No place but is holy ground.

This is my Father’s world. I walk a desert lone.

In a bush ablaze to my wondering gaze God makes His glory known.

This is my Father’s world, a wanderer I may roam

Whate’er my lot, it matters not,

My heart is still at home.