Sunday Leftovers (6/15/08)

Galatians says much about the Fatherhood of God, but not everything. One more truth that is found elsewhere is this: God loves and is (and always will be) “well-pleased" with His Son (2 Pt. 1:17); we are in His Son (Eph. 1:17; Col. 2:20) — therefore He loves us with a Son-like love!

The pleasure that He finds in His sons is found in the familiar parable of the waiting father and the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). Of that story, author Philip Keller writes this:

…despite all that the profligate son did to dismay his father, the parent's attitude toward him never deviated. In spite of all the shame, suffering, scandal, and loss, the father's love never minished. Instead there went out from him forgiveness, compassion, love, and concern.…[But the older brother's] pride and self-esteem prevented him from enjoying all the benefits at his disposal. This was simply because he did not believe what his father said. He was trying so hard to earn and merit by diligent service what was already rightfully his as the elder son. His plight is almost the more pathetic of the two. It shows us a man who really never got to know his father. The picture painted for us is that of a person who sees God as his Father, as someone harsh and hard and very demanding. He has never sensed His love, compassion, generosity, and fantastic forgiveness. And because he keeps his father at arm's length there has never been that wondrous sensation of feeling those open arms flung about him. He has never felt accepted. He has never felt wanted.

What makes a good home?

In his sermon, "The Pastor as Son of an Earthly Father," D. A. Carson says this:

"The worst kind of home to be brought up in is the one with many pretensions and low performance.
The best kind of home to be brought up in is the one with few pretensions and high performance."

The entire sermon is well worth hearing, as are all the messages at the Bethlehem Conference. (Crawford Loritts' sermon — "The Call to Courage" — is now in my "favorite sermons" folder on my .mp3 player.)

How a Boy Becomes a Man

In a two-part commentary two years ago, Al Mohler noted 13 marks of manhood — 13 qualities that not only signify that transition has taken place from boyhood to manhood, but also 13 targets for fathers to take aim at in the process of discipling their children.

While he provides comment with each one, simply reading the list itself is instructive. A boy has become a man when he has:

1. Spiritual maturity sufficient to lead a wife and children.
2. Personal maturity sufficient to be a responsible husband and father.
3. Economic maturity sufficient to hold an adult job and handle money.
4. Physical maturity sufficient to work and protect a family.
5. Sexual maturity sufficient to marry and fulfill God's purposes.
6. Moral maturity sufficient to lead by example of righteousness.
7. Ethical maturity sufficient to make responsible decisions.
8. Worldview maturity sufficient to understand what is really important.
9. Relational maturity sufficient to understand and respect others.
10. Social maturity sufficient to make a contribution to society.
11. Verbal maturity sufficient to communicate and articulate as a man.
12. Character maturity sufficient to demonstrate courage under fire.
13. Biblical maturity sufficient to lead at some level in the church.

A Father's Encouragement

This morning I read a quotation from Thomas Fuller (1608-1661). It is a succinct reminder both of the weight of our influence on and the extent of God's grace on our children as we seek to father them to the glory of God.

Lord, I find the genealogy of my Savior strangely checkered
with four remarkable changes in four generations.

Rehoboam begat Abia:
a bad father begat a bad son.
Abia begat Asa:
a bad father and a good son.
Asa begat Jehoshaphat:
a good father and a good son.
Jehosaphat begat Joram:
a good father and a bad son.

I see, Lord, from hence, that my father's piety cannot be entailed;
that is bad news for me.
But I see also that actual impiety is not hereditary;
that is good news for my son.

(HT: Gordon MacDonald)

Sunday Leftovers (6/17/07)

One writer has noted that "there is a 'father hunger' in every one of us — an insatiable desire to know our fathers."

I believe he is right and I believe that produces at least two clear implications. One, it behooves a father to do all he can to fulfill that hunger by being intentional with his children. Some would point to the social implications of fathers being fathers as the reason that is so important. Yet there are also spiritual reasons that fathers should fulfill their function in the home: because that is the calling of God on their lives. Yes, it is hard work. But it is also a primary means God has designed by which new disciples of Christ are brought into the world.

A second implication of a broadly-experienced father hunger is that every person's hunger for a father will be, at best, only partially satisfied by an earthly father. Only the satisfaction of God, the Father can ultimately satisfy. Every other father, will at times (volitionally or accidentally) give his children snakes or stones instead of fish and bread. Every father, wittingly or unwittingly, will occasionally provoke his children to anger. It must be so because of indwelling sin. Try as he might, desire as he does, he will sin and he will sin against his children.

Not so with God. Not so with our Father in heaven.

He will not sin against his children. He cannot sin against His children. So the wisest thing one can do in seeking a father to fulfill that "father hunger" is to seek God. Find satisfaction in Him and you will never be dissatisfied.

Father's Day Meditation

Today is Father’s Day.

For some that is a glad and easy celebration and remembrance. For others it is a day mixed with sorrow and regret for a relationship that once was and now is gone or for a desired relationship that was never possessed. That makes worship easy for some and difficult for others.

So whether Father's Day is either glad or sad, we must find the object of our worship to be greater than our earthly relationships. And that is why I have grown fond of the oft-told story of Jonathan Edwards who wrote the following to his daughter Lucy shortly before his death:

Dear Lucy, it seems to me to be the will of God that I must shortly leave you; therefore give my kindest love to my dear wife, and tell her, that the uncommon union, which has so long subsisted between us, has been of such a nature as I trust is spiritual and therefore will continue forever: and I hope she will be supported under so great a trial, and submit cheerfully to the will of God. And as to my children you are now to be left fatherless, which I hope will be an inducement to you all to seek a father who will never fail you.

Who is this Father in heaven that will never fail that a dying man can take great comfort in Him and offer Him as an encouragement to his children?

On one occasion, the disciples heard Jesus praying, and the significance of that prayer so impressed them that their immediate response was: “Teach us to pray!” [Wouldn’t you like to have heard that prayer!]

So Jesus taught them. What followed was not a formula for us to pray, but a model to teach us how to pray. And it begins not with confession, not with a petition for our needs, and not with thanksgiving, but with a recognition of and commitment to our relationship with God — our Father.

Those two little words “our Father” (Mt. 6:9) are so commonly used in prayer today, that the significance of Jesus’ use of them is now lost. But the turn of a few pages in the Bible back to the Old Testament quickly reveals that with this phrase, Jesus was inaugurating a radical understanding of God. In the Old Testament, God is never directly called “Father,” and in fact there are less than seven references to Him as Father!

So to the ears of His listeners, not only did it appear presumptuous that Jesus should call God “Father,” but it was preposterous to suggest that anyone could have such an intimate relationship with the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of the universe that He could be called “Father.”

Then something even more amazing happened. Following the resurrection of Christ and His appearances, which were delightfully shocking in themselves, He spoke words to Mary in the garden which were equally as shocking as His appearance.

“…go to My brethren and say to them,
‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’”

Throughout the gospel of John, the emphasis had been made that Jesus was singularly unique because of His heavenly authority that had been granted by the Father, and that He had been sent as an emissary of the Father. [Aside: search for the word “Father” in the gospel of John, and see how many times Jesus alludes to the supremacy of His relationship with God the Father.] And then, after the resurrection, He astounded Mary and the disciples with this truth — they have the same Father! They have the same eternal security, they have Christ as their brother, they have the same indwelling Spirit. They do — and so do all believers!

Further, by not only being allowed, but encouraged to call Him “Father,” God demonstrates that He has a Son-like love for us. Not only are we called His sons, but we are His sons (1 Jn. 3:1). No longer is there a love that needs to be earned, or an angry father to be appeased. As believers in Christ, we are eternally secure in His love for us, content that His wrath has forever been appeased by Christ’s work on the cross.

So on Father’s Day, whether you are sad or glad, let this be your deep satisfaction and joy — God in heaven, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Eternal Father, the Prince of Peace, He is your Father! You are completely secure in His unchanging love. He delights in your fellowship and in giving abundantly all that you need (be sure to understand that your great need is for spiritual food not refrigerator food). He is your Father.


Sermons on fatherhood worth hearing…

• Alistair Begg, “Redirecting Our Families” (a number of very helpful sermons about fatherhood and manhood are on the website www.cbmw.org).
• Alistair Begg, “Missing in Action: The Failure of Men in the Modern Church”
• Al Mohler, “Being Men, Raising Men”
• Al Mohler, “The Seduction of Marriage and the Integrity of Christian Marriage” (manuscript)
• John Piper “Marriage Is Meant for Making Children...Disciples of Jesus” (part two of that sermon was preached today and should be posted within a day or two).

Something about fatherhood and manhood worth reading…

• R. Kent Hughes, Disciplines of a Godly Man.
• R. Albert Mohler, “From Boy to Man — The Marks of Manhood” (part one | part two)

Seven Facts About Fatherhood

A couple of years ago, Alistair Begg noted seven facts about fatherhood that are good reminders that will help every father shepherd his family with more wisdom and grace:

• Fact 1: I am a Dad - even on the mornings when I don't feel like it; even when I know I blew it, even when I think I'd rather be doing something else, the central fact of my existence is that I am a husband and a father.
• Fact 2: The home is the single most important influence on my family. I can delegate my responsibilities at work, but I can't delegate the hopes for my family.
• Fact 3: Because of its inherent difficulty and importance, fathering is the most dignified role I will ever play.
  
• Fact 4: Being a parent is one of the greatest sources of joy we can ever know.
• Fact 5: We all can improve - for there isn't a father this morning on Father's Day when we get the card…you don't feel a bit of the heel ("Oh honey, why did you write that nice thing about me?"). And you get in your car and you say, "If only I could be what it says in the card. If only I could live according to their approximation [of me]."
• Fact 6: Everyone is unique. You can't be the father down the street, you can't be the Dad up the road…You're unique. Just be yourself.
• Fact 7: It is difficult to be a good parent. There are no magic potions, no special formulas. One of the myths of our society is that we can be great parents without the real investment of our time and energy. And the great truth is that there is no substitute for time and effort.