"Father"

I’m sorry, doesn’t seem the same,

To call him by some other name,

It is not right, I’ll say it plain,

He’ll always be my father.

He’d fought a war and suffered there,

I never knew how much the wear,

He hid the pain, too well I swear,

Came home to be my father.

When as a child I couldn’t know,

How much he loved, called me Brad-o,

And he was always my Dad-o,

The one who was my father.

He took us all to church and back,

Sang the hymns, kept me on track,

Put in the plate, and showed no lack,

The faith God gave my father.

Knew everything about a cow,

I cowboyed hard, he showed me how,

I wish that I could see him now,

The cattleman, my father.

He worked so hard to make a way,

Make sure his family was okay,

Eventually his health would pay,

The hard work of my father.

I remember nights with him,

After supper, firelight dim,

He read aloud old poems then,

The soft heart of my father.

And when they laid my father low,

I knew it was his time to go,

They rang the bell, by this I know,

I’m so much like my father.

I honor him on father’s day,

Been twenty years, he went away,

But in God’s arms, he’s there okay,

I’ll always love my father.

“The Lord is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him…” (Psalm 103:13, NLT)

The Lord is like a father? That creates a problem for some. That’s because their earthly father was absent or angry or abusive or addicted or whatever. So their early notion of father is negative. Then someone comes along and says God is our father, and things get confusing. So here’s the question: If the Lord is like a father, what kind of father is He like? The Psalmist answers it this way: He is tender and compassionate. That’s exactly the kind of father we need, don’t you think? And that’s who He is- always and to everyone without exception, but especially to those who reverence Him. We honor our earthly fathers today, and the Bible says we should. Some of them gave us a good head-start in knowing our heavenly Father. Some of them didn’t. And some of them gave us a mixed bag. No matter. Honor your father. Seek the One who wants to father you eternally. Be blessed.

Lord, thank You for our earthly fathers and thank You for being a Father of tenderness and compassion, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Bruce Greene, brucegreeneart.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Bruce, and God bless you.