There is one thing for certain, you have a mother and you have a father. Even if you have not had the best upbringing or maybe your father wasn’t around much, I pray someone stepped up and became your father-figure. With Father’s Day this weekend, it is a good time to remember why we should honor our fathers.
Deutoronomy 5:16 NIV reads, “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you…” It is not a suggestion. It is a commandment and it is the only commandment that comes with a promise. But that’s not why we honor our father and mother. That’s just a bonus. We do it because the Lord commands us to.
The definition of ‘honor’ is;
- to regard or treat (someone) with admiration and respect
- to give special recognition to
- to live up to or fulfill the terms of
- to accept as payment
I can understand if you had a pretty lousy dad or an absent father why it might be hard to look to God as Father. But I hope there is someone you look up to as your father-figure. By looking to our earthly fathers with honor and respect, we then can look to God with honor and respect. It’s like we glimpse God and his love through our earthly dads.
There is a story in Luke 15:11-32 which showcases our Father’s love for us. You probably know it as “The Story of the Prodigal Son” but it should be called “The Story of a Father’s Love”.
This father had two sons and one wanted his inheritance. So the father divided it up between the two and the one son set out on a great adventure. He had the time of his life and it wasn’t long before he had no money. He tried to work just to get a little food. As he did, he thought about his father who treated his own servants better than he was being treated. He decided to head for home, beg for his father’s forgiveness and ask him, not to take him back as his son, but as one of his servants.
As he made his way home, his father was anxiously awaiting his return. The story says, “while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” Why would we not honor this man as our father? His love for us is so great, he anxiously watches for us. As we get closer to Him, He doesn’t wait for us. He runs out to greet us with love and compassion.
I don’t care what kind of father you had. I hope when you think of God the Father, you can embrace the idea of God loving you so much that he is not until watching for you, He is running toward you with love and compassion. All you need to do is turn and head for home.
Today, I honor my father because he is a reflection of God’s love here on Earth. I honor my husband, because he is the example of God’s love to our son. I honor God, who is the ultimate Father to us all, who embodies the perfect love we all desire.
A few weeks ago, my husband wrote a blog entitled, Good Good Father.In it, he shares about his relationship with his father, what he learned and what it is like to be a father. I hope you will check it out.
We honor our fathers because God commands us to. We honor God because we were created to. Find a way to honor your earthly father or father-figure. And find a way to honor God, our ultimate Father. There is no greater way to honor God than to reflect His love to those around us.
Let us pray;
Father God, teach us what it means to honor our fathers and mothers. Show us ways we can honor You. Let us reflect your perfect love to all those around us. In Jesus Name, Amen. -M
