I’m writing this shortly after we celebrated Father’s Day, which was also around the time of my late father’s birthday. I have been thinking about what it means to be a father. I have been a dad for 30 years now. I have nine children, so I have had a lot of experience, which also means I’ve made a lot of mistakes and learned many important and sometimes difficult lessons throughout the years.
One thing I have seen with my own children, which I also experienced with my father, is that love is often spelled T-I-M-E. No matter how much I love, protect, provide and care for my children, it is usually the time I spend with them that they appreciate most and remember for a long time.
One of my earliest memories of my father is that every night, as we went to bed, he would tell us stories about his life and childhood. By his own account he was quite a naughty kid, and before Jesus changed his life, he was a wayward adult as well. Many of his stories were about his mistakes. I credit his honesty in his accounts of his life with the fact that I was never tempted to do many of those things such as smoke, take drugs, steal, get into petty crime, etc.
He talked openly about his mistakes and often brought out the negative consequences of his actions. Although I didn’t recognize this at the time, he was a good example of humility. I rarely remember him telling stories in which he was the hero; instead, he would share things that either taught me important lessons or were testimonies of God’s mercy and goodness in his life.
Although as Christians we have an understanding of God as our Father, before Jesus’ teachings, the concept of God as our Father was presented in the Old Testament in a less personal way. However, when Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He told them to address God as their Father, and He used the term Abba, which is the informal or affectionate way that people would address their fathers at that time. Abba is similar to calling your father Papa or Daddy.
Jesus taught us that, as His followers, we have been granted the right to enter into a more intimate and personal understanding of and relationship with God. “To all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12 NLT). Since God is our Father, we can consider the relationship He wants to have with each of us to be a good example of what a father should be like with his children.
Here are a few of the attributes of God, our Father:
God shows us grace and mercy. “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).
God provides for us. “If you then, imperfect as you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:11 WNT).
God loves us as His children. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1).
God disciplines us as a father. “As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children” (Hebrews 12:7 NLT).
Another attribute of good fathers that is evident in God’s love towards us is that He is willing to go to any lengths to help us regain our relationship with Him, even when we are separated from Him because of our sins or disregard.
Jesus told the Parable of the Prodigal Son who took his inheritance and went to a faraway land where he squandered it in reckless living. Eventually, he had nothing and was hungry, so he decided to go back home. He thought he could at least be one of his father’s servants. But when the father saw his son returning to him, he felt such compassion that he ran to meet him and embraced him. Before the son could apologize or admit his mistakes, the father showered him with love, and they celebrated. (See Luke 15:11–32.)
May we each reflect the Father’s unconditional love to the people in our lives and those we encounter throughout our day, and be good examples of the love that God, our Father, shows us.
***
When I think of the love I feel for each member of our family, I sense, to a slight degree, the love that our Heavenly Father bears for His children.—Russell M. Nelson
Oh, it is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us—even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will.—Joseph B. Wirthlin
***
If you haven’t yet experienced the unconditional love of the Father, you can do so now by inviting His Son, Jesus, into your life. Jesus said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Simply pray this prayer:
Dear Jesus, I believe that You are the Son of God and that You died on the cross for me so that, through Your sacrifice, I can live forever with You in heaven. I ask that You forgive my sins. I open the door of my heart and life to You. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me live in a way that glorifies You. Guide my life and help me to follow You. In Your name I pray. Amen.