CHRISTIAN ROCK CAFE

[excel]

The Bridge Christian Fellowship
The Pastor’s Pen


This coming Sunday is Father’s Day, so I want to take this opportunity to say, “Happy Father’s Day,” to all of you dad’s out there. As a father, God has placed you in a vitally important role. As your children observe and imitate your attitudes and behaviors, they are forming a concept and understanding of not just your nature, but also that of their Heavenly Father.

Years ago, just after my 19th birthday, I was teaching a Bible class to a group of 45-50 Jr. High age students, most of whom had no prior exposure to the Word of God. The majority of these kids came from homes in which abuse, abandonment, addictions, and adultery were common place. Each Saturday, I would go the neighborhood park with my football and start tossing it to any kids who were there. Soon, like a modern-day Pied Piper, I would find myself with a bunch of kids wanting to play.

During our make-shift game time, I would tell them about my class, and ask if they would like to come. You see, in addition to our weekly class, we also went on many outings and camping trips. I gave them brochures to take home to their parents and promised them to have our Sunday School bus stop by their home and provide them with a ride. Each week that bus showed up with more kids than the week before! Thus, my Jr. High class was filled with young people who knew nothing of their Heavenly Father.

I will never forget the Sunday morning I experienced near-mutiny with this class. We had out-grown every classroom in the building, so we met on one of the buses. Can you imagine? 50 previously non-churched kids on an old bus with a 19-year-old teacher, armed with his Bible and a portable chalk board? In this challenging setting, I was attempting to communicate to them the nature of God.

I told them that one of God’s characteristics is that He is love. To illustrate this point, I talked about our physical dads, and how much they love and care for us. “God loves us even more than our physical dads do,” I told them. Those words had barely escaped my mouth when one of the young men shouted, “Why would I want a god who loves me like my blankety-blank old man does?” Like a well-trained choir, most of the other students joined in the chorus, incorporating every expletive I knew to vent their venomous angst and frustration with their on dads.

My experience of a rugged yet tender-loving father had prepared me to receive my Heavenly Father’s love. For those in my class, their experience had been vastly different. Many of their fathers were alcoholics. I worked with some of them at the local sawmill. Whichever of the three shifts produced the most square-feet of lumber each month was rewarded with a pickup full of iced beer at the end of their last shift for that month. Most of my co-workers would dive right in, drinking, playing cards, and carousing until wee into the morning of the following day.

Many of the kids lived in houses long abandoned by their father. Others crouched in fear when their fathers were home, doing everything possible to not ignite his temper. Few of these youth had ever received a tender hug, a loving touch, an encouraging word, a “way-to-go,” an “’atta boy!”, a patient response, or a sincere “I love you,” from their earthy fathers. How could they ever receive the love of their Heavenly Father?

Fortunately, that growing church family had some amazing dads and grandpas in it. I employed many of these men in our various outings. What joy I received as I observed these loving, godly, selfless men pour their lives into these spiritually orphaned young teens. Over time, the defenses dropped, and the resistance to God’s love was replaced with a warm embrace of it. I was able to witness many of these kids trust in Jesus and become genuine disciples of His amazing love and grace.

How about it, dads? What are your children and grandchildren learning about their Heavenly Father as they observe your attitudes and behaviors? You and I have the wonderful opportunity to secure God’s blessing upon the third and fourth generations to follow us. My this Father’s Day be a wonderful celebration of our Heavenly Father’s love!