LIVE STREAM AVAILABLE SUNDAY MORNINGS AT 10:00 AM EST

Father's Day Reflection: The Blessing of a Father's Love, Guidance, and Wisdom

Today is Father’s Day. Blessed is the person who had a father who loved them enough to give them love, guidance and discipline.  Blessed is the person whose father loves God and strives to please Him.  Blessed is the person whose father imparted his wisdom and experience to their children.  I realize that not everyone has or had such a father.  Some are estranged from their fathers and get very little love and guidance from them.  But even fathers who fail short in many ways often give their children wisdom.

The writer of Proverbs says, “Listen, my son, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.  I give you sound learning so do not forsake my teaching.  When I was a boy in my father’s house still tender and an only child of my mother, he taught me and said, ‘Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will get wisdom and understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them. . .” Proverbs 4:1-5.  

Our culture is not strong on generational learning.  By that I mean we are not strong on listening to the older generation and gleaning wisdom from their experience.  Too many of us think the older generation doesn’t really know what they are talking about and so we plot our own course without much input from our parents.  Imagine how much better off we would be if we could listen and really learn from the experiences of our parents.  Lord, my father is gone.  He was imperfect in many ways, but I am grateful for him. And Father whether we had a good father or a poor one, we have you as our Father and you give us love, guidance and discipline for which we are grateful.

Contribution by Greg Nevil