“I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, father…and he arose and came to his father” (Luke 15:18 & 20, NKJV).
The human society has no greater asset than its fathers. A family is happy if it enjoys the privilege of happy fatherhood. A family is unhappy if it lives under the burden of an irresponsible father. The father is an unshakeable pillar of strength and support for his family; under his shadow his family feels secure. Nothing is more relieving and reassuring to the family as the hearty laughter of a father as he plays with his wife and children. A family with a grumpy father dwells in an atmosphere of joyless gloom. A good father is indeed a priceless gem. He is not only the treasure chest to his family but also a tower of blessing to his community. The father is his family’s spokesman, its defense and covering. Joshua exemplified a good father when he chose God for himself and for his family saying, “But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15 NLT). The rottenness, which has become a significant landmark of our society bespeaks of lack of fathers who would go public with their choices to worship God with their families. Godly fathers make good fathers. The children of such a father, even in their worst situation, would be confident to say, “I will arise and go to my father.”
A godly father is compassionate, generous, and not ashamed to be vulnerable.
In the father of the prodigal son, we catch a glimpse of what a godly father looks like. A godly father demonstrates faith in his children and trusts their sense of judgement. This could be risky, as it turns out to be in the case of the prodigal son, but the virtue demonstrated by his father is imperative in rearing outstandingly successful children. When his younger son demanded for his share of the family inheritance, his father believed in him enough to oblige him his request. Well the young man failed because of poor investment decisions. Jim Valvano who is one of America’s greatest coaches of all times said, “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person –he believed in me.” A father who believes in his children gives them right to make mistakes and even fail without letting their mistakes or failures redefine them for him. The prodigal son’s father, being a godly father, did not allow the failure of his younger son to diminish his status as son. Hear him speak about his returning prodigal, “this, my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry” (Luke 15:24 NKJV). If love covers a multitude of sin, the father’s love covers infinitude of sins.
A godly father is compassionate. Compassion is a sincere response to the suffering of others that motivates one to seek to help the sufferers. A compassionate father suffers with/in the suffering of his children and would even want to swap places with them. The prodigal son’s father was such a father. He demonstrated remarkable understanding of the mess his son got himself into and was so intent in helping him out of it that he did not even remember the wreck he did to his fortune. “.. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him” (Luke 15:20 NKJV). Notice that the father ran to meet the son, a practice that was not accepted in Jewish culture of those days. He ran to get to the returning boy ahead of the villagers to protect him from being ostracized from the community as was customary to any person who lost his family inheritance among gentiles (This is called kezazah in Hebrew). Driven by love and compassion, the father ran and took the shame of his returning prodigal! A godly father remains a committed father to his children in their good times and in their bad times. Again, a godly father accepts his humanness and therefore is not ashamed to be vulnerable. All boys and men have often heard the admonition, “be a man.” This does not imply be male, rather it is an urge to be manly by stifling our emotions least we reveal our vulnerability. But a godly father is human. He should not be ashamed to betray his vulnerability to his family. Being human is part of what it means to be a dad..
A godly father is generous. The prodigal son’s father was outstandingly generous to his son. “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry” (Luke 15:22-23 NKJV). A generous father creates festive occasions for his family regularly. A family that celebrates together sticks together, whether in sight or out of sight. We thank our fathers for believing in us, for loving us and for making great sacrifices to create happiness for us. We pray that God will bless them mightily as we join the world today to celebrate their unique roles in our lives in Jesus name. Happy Fathers’ Day to our dads and boys.
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