Giving Dad His Due

This week’s blog is dedicated to all the fathers who are doing the best they can to provide for their families. It’s for the fathers who understand their role in the household and tirelessly handle their responsibilities. It’s in appreciation for the men who put God first in their lives and trust the Holy Spirit to guide their decision-making. Believe me, these men are out there.

A growing trend is to use Father’s Day as a platform to point out all that is wrong with families in our society. In particular, it’s often used as a sounding board to air grievances against fathers. This week, I’ve heard quite a few statistics about absentee dads, deadbeat dads, and how the declining presence of men in families is corrupting the young people in homes across America. In fact, it’s all made to sound very hopeless.

Yet, when I look around, I see so many men who are striving to do the best they can for their families. Men who have been put out of work in this economy, but have taken on jobs for which they are overqualified, just to support their families. Men who are raising their sons and daughters on their own, but are unrecognized in the “single parent” conversation. Men who have married women with children and have become fathers, not by seed, but by selection. All of these are men who are often overlooked and undervalued in favor of sensational headlines that reinforce the downfall of the modern family.

Today, in some churches, the pastor may ask for all the fathers to stand in recognition of Father’s Day. And there will actually be some women who stand as well. “I’m both a mother AND a father to my kids,” they will contend. While there are certainly plenty of women who are raising kids all alone, and doing a commendable job by themselves, there is a time to recognize their efforts. It’s called Mother’s Day.

Exodus 20:12 tells us to honor our father and our mother. On Father’s Day, let’s give dad his due. Let’s really take the time to recognize the men in our communities who are trying to do the right thing.

I thank my Heavenly Father for the fathers on earth who put Him first!

40

I’ve been thinking a lot about the significance of the number 40 lately. It certainly appears very prominently in certain events in the Bible. Think about it: Noah’s ark was afloat for 40 days and 40 nights. The Israelites wandered the desert for 40 years. Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness. Hmm…maybe there’s something to this number.

According to Biblical references, “40” can refer to a long trial, or a probation of some kind. Noah spent 40 days and nights in the ark while the world was under water. The Israelites spent 40 years wandering the land without a home. Jesus spent 40 days and nights without food in the wilderness. In each instance, they had to completely trust and rely on the Lord. These were periods of testing…and preparation.

It’s amazing when you stop to think about what happens after the trial has ended. After 40 days, the waters stopped—and when they receded, Noah stepped off the ark onto a new earth (Genesis 7-8). After 40 years, the Israelites entered the promised land, a place flowing with milk and honey (Deuteronomy 8). After Jesus’ 40-day fast, He began the greatest ministry known to man (Matthew 4).

There used to be a saying among sassy older women that went, “Life begins after 40.” From a Biblical perspective, perhaps those earlier years were just trial and error for the fabulous 40-somethings they were to become.

Thank God that after the trial of 40 we can enjoy His countless blessings!

Poison Ivy and Milkweed

As a child I adopted a great love for the outdoors. Leaving Newark for rural West Virginia, where I lived for 8 years, I was intrigued by nature and quickly adapted to the outdoor life. Unfortunately, in my woodland adventures I soon discovered the perils of this green environment. Poison ivy came to be a frequent interruption to my enjoyment.

However, rising through and towering above the contagious vine-covered field of poison ivy was another notable plant—milkweed. An old-timer dropped an invaluable bit of wisdom on me to ease my suffering. He taught me how to extract the thick white sap (hence the name milkweed) from the plant and apply it to my rash. I must admit—at first it stings like alcohol and later creates an intense itch as it dries, but it dries out the blisters and commences healing.

As Christians, we’re occasionally tempted to take walk on the wild side. We take the chance and turn away from where God’s been leading and keeping us safe, thus, ending up poisoned from the experience. The Lord wants us to steer clear of these known dangers set by the enemy, understanding what looks so enticing at first can leave us with a tremendous itch. Trust and believe that there are serious consequences for flirting with a sinful world—and who knows just what may rub off on us.

I still wondered why the remedy is found amidst the poison ivy itself. I then realized that sometimes the only way we can discover the cure from our ailment is from within the center of our pain. I won’t say that God’s way of getting our attention is by inflicting pain, discomfort, or distress (we often do that ourselves), but He uses these trials to our advantage by remaining present in our times of suffering. In compassion, He stands above the creeping ivy teaching us to look to the hills from which cometh our help. He helps us to stand fast among a sea of evildoers and rise above our negative and wretched circumstances. And we learn the cure can only be found in Christ—His blood and His love, which covers a multitude of sins—and all that’s needed is its application.

So, if by chance, you’ve found your way into a hurtful situation and are left blistered by the experience, look for the One who stands above it all and is ready to nurse us back to health with His milk of understanding, guidance, patience, and love. Sure, it’s going to sting at first, but let go of your pride and admit you’re in a bad way, and be soothed by His balm and relieved by His healing.


This week’s blog is brought to you by Min. Reginald Harris, Youth Leader of Christian Love Baptist Church in Irvington, NJ.