Faith Perspectives – June 6, 2018

By Rev. Beverly Kahle
St. Paul UCC- Nashville

This Sunday we celebrate Father’s Day. Did you know that originally Father’s Day was celebrated on Pentecost? I don’t know why – maybe to remind us of the deep connection each father has to our
Heavenly Father, the God Almighty who spoke and called the world’s into being. Although the Old Testament speaks of God the Father, it does so only 10 times and then, mostly as creator.
Jesus is the one who introduces us to a personal and intimate God as he invites us to use the term, “Abba.” This term, originating in the Aramaic, invites us to a close and personal relationship to God, one in which we see ourselves as God’s children and rely on God to be loving, kind, protective and attentive to us and our needs as we give God our love, respect, and devotion. This relationship to God as Abba, Father is one of the things that sets us as Christians apart from other faiths. In Christianity we lift up and celebrate a relational God who deeply loves and cares for us. While doing this, we do not forget that this is also a God who wields the power of the universe – whose ways are not our ways and whose thoughts are far above our thoughts.
Because of this connection Jesus made between God and father, earthly fathers are challenged to live in such a way to point their children to a loving, caring, compassionate Father God who desires to be in a close relationship with all children while providing for their needs and teaching them how to live. What a responsibility – what a joy.
Being a father is an awesome and tremendous calling as fathers are vitally important in molding and shaping their children. Earthly fathers are often the lens by which God is seen. You then have a truly humbling and privileged responsibility to allow your child to see a glimpse of what God the Father is. Fathers, my prayer is that God would give you wisdom and strength to be a good and proper example to your children as you teach them to love and care for those around them.
But a true father is not defined just by genetics, but by the time that father takes to invest in a loving, growing relationship. So, thank you to all who step up to be a father.
I’m glad we have a day to celebrate dads!
Happy Father’s Day to you and to the ultimate Father, – our God who is our Father in Heaven! To our earthly dads, may you be showered with demonstrations of love and respect.
May you give thanks for the lives of those entrusted to you. And, may you share the love of our Heavenly Father with all of God’s children everywhere.