Good morning: Cards, emails, and texts will say it in different ways, but the overall message of many Father’s Day greetings is: You’re the best dad ever! As a dad it’s great to be appreciated. But if they’re honest, even the most devoted fathers will have to admit that they are far from being the best dad ever. A father’s patience can wear thin. He may become caught up with work and miss out on important moments with a son or daughter. He will not always be a perfect example. However, the one thing most important for being a good dad is faith in the perfect heavenly Father. “You, LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name” (Is. 63:16). He is the Father who has always been and always will be. His love never wavers. “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jer. 31:3). He is the Redeemer who paid the ransom price on the cross to set sinners free from the prison of Satan, sin, and hell. He is the one to whom fathers can go for forgiveness and guidance. Whether you are a father, mother, son, or daughter, the Father took you up in His arms at your baptism and still daily and patiently calls you to repent of your sins and receive the peace of forgiveness. Like a father who teaches important life lessons by word and example, the Lord gives us His wisdom every time we hear and read His Word. Everything God does comes from a heart of love. He never gets tired or discouraged or fearful. But He knows we do, and so He is there to calm, comfort, and strengthen. “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust” (Ps. 103:13-14). Like a loving earthly father, He does not always give us everything we ask for. He knows better than we do what will serve for our long-term blessing. It would be foolish for a child to refuse the love and help of a caring father. How much more so to reject the blessings of the heavenly Father. “You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory” (Ps. 73:22-23). Thank God for the best Father ever and for fathers who follow in His footsteps! Yours in Christ, Pastor Tomorrow’s service begins at 9 a.m.
