Dear Friends,
It used to be fathers were heroes in television shows. Father Knows Best, The Danny Thomas Show, Leave It to Beaver, and The Rifleman all featured strong father figures.
In 1971, Archie Bunker, the bigoted patriarch of the Bunker family, became the new model for TV dads. Everybody Loves Raymond followed, with Peter Boyle playing the disheveled spouse of the cantankerous Marie. Nowadays, if you want to see how fathers are presented on television, you must turn to offerings such as Modern Family, Family Guy, and The Simpsons.
“Honor your father and your mother. The Lord your God has commanded you to do this. Then you will live a long time. And things will go well for you in the land. The Lord your God is going to give you this land.” Deuteronomy 5:16
Based on the way fathers are presented in today’s T.V. shows, I think it is safe to say, “Deuteronomy was not required reading in the Theater Arts Department.”
It’s no secret that fathers don’t always know best. Fathers get some things right and some things wrong. Unfortunately, the things they get wrong often have the biggest impact on their families. My father was a good partner for my Mom, raising two daughters and two sons. Like other dads, he saw home as a teapot where he could let off steam after a pressure-filled day. He could be demanding, impatient, and caustic when he spoke with my siblings and me. Thankfully, he was always respectful when he spoke with our Mom.
On the job and in public, my father was friendly, generous, kind, and—now that I think about it—gentle. His favorite Bible verse was James 1:19: “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”
Ed, as we sometimes called him when he wasn’t listening, used to joke about our family name. The motto on our family crest read, “Aim High; Speak Low; Fear God, and Sin Not.”
“We had to change the name from Sinnot to Sennott,” he would say, “We just couldn’t live up to that sin not part!”
He teased about it, but my father tried to live a life worthy of his calling. He loved the Lord, valued integrity, and did his best to follow the wisdom of Proverbs 22:6: “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”
It took me a lot of years to appreciate just how good a man my father was. He’ll be among the first people I want to speak with when I get to heaven. It also took too many years for me to realize that many people, if not most, were not blessed to have a dad as good as mine. Those with fathers who were absent or abusive have spoken to me about how difficult it has been for them to move past childhood memories of a “bad” father and trust their Heavenly Father to be a “good” Father. But, as the Chris Tomlin song printed below reminds us, God is not just a good Father. He is a “Good Good Father.”
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/christomlin/goodgoodfather.html
Scripture of the Week: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1
Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ
Good Good Father
Oh, I’ve heard a thousand stories
Of what they think You’re like
But I’ve heard the tender whisper
Of love in the dead of night
And You tell me that You’re pleased
And that I’m never alone
Refrain:
You’re a good good Father
It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are
And I’m loved by You
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am
Oh, and I’ve seen many searching
For answers far and wide
But I know we’re all searching
For answers only You provide
‘Cause You know just what we need
Before we say a word
Refrain
Cause You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways to us
You are perfect in all of Your ways
Oh, You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways to us
Oh, it’s love so undeniable
I, I can hardly speak
Peace so unexplainable
I, I can hardly think
As You call me deeper still
As You call me deeper still
As You call me deeper still
Into love, love, love
Refrain
You’re a good good Father
It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are
And I’m loved by You
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am
You’re a good good Father
You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways
Publishing: ©2014 WorshipTogether.com Songs / sixsteps Music / Vamos Publishing / Housefires Sounds (ASCAP) / Capitol CMG Paragon / Common Hymnal Digital / Tony Brown BMI Designee (BMI) (admin. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com)
Writer(s): Pat Barrett and Tony Brown
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