Happy Fathers Day

In the middle of doing my final preparations for the meeting I am doing on Sunday I started to prepare a childrens story. It is always fun to share the message of God with kids and I was trying to work out what to share with them, obviously here in Australia this Sunday is Fathers Day, but for some of these kids that is not necessarily someone they want to celebrate. This got me thinking just how fortunate I was to have such a wonderful relationship with my father.
Three things stood out as I started to prepare this message, the first of these was discipline. There were times that I did some things that I wasn't supposed to and at times my father had to discipline me. Now I was never disciplined too hard (and in case you are getting worried I certainly was not abused in any way) and I am glad that I had a father who loved me enough to discipline me when I needed it.
The second thing was Dad always had time for me and my pastimes, some fathers get too busy and never seem to have time to do things with their children. Dad took great delight in watching me play sport, and just spending time with me.The other part of this is neither Dad nor I were worried about showing our affection for each other and always greeted each other with a hug and kiss, Mum tells a story when we were all young of Dad saying "dont tell me you love me show me !" I am glad that I had a father who loved me enough to take the time to do things with me.
The third thing was that Dad taught me the principles of the Bible and showed by example what it was to be a Man of Faith. From a very young age I was taught the values of the Bible and Mum and Dad taught me about God's love and how Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I have made some pretty big mistakes along the path but the grounding that was placed in my life has eventually stood the test and God has nurtured me into a better person than I ever thought possible. I am glad that I had a father who loved me enough to teach me about God's love and more importantly to be a fine example of that love.
I thank God for my wonderful father and his example to me and pray that as my children grow they too will see the love of God their Heavenly Father through the life of their earthly father. Happy Fathers Day Dad !!