Exodus 20:12 states "Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God has given thee." (The fifth commandment).
Matthew 15:4 "Honor your father and mother and anyone who curses his father and mother must be put to death." These two scripture verses come with blessings and curses. They require that we honor our birth parents, stepparents, grandparents and even older siblings who may be raising us, teachers, aunts, uncles, seniors in our community, anyone in authority: even the government. Unfortunately, too many have long strayed away from these principles.
How do we Honor our fathers?
It’s that time of the year again when we pay homage to our fathers. Many of us were blessed to have incredible fathers or father-like people in our lives. They loved, guided, nurtured and supported us in immeasurable ways. We must honor our fathers by extending love and respect, being forgiving and compassionate, appreciating their acts of kindness, and speaking kindly of and to them.
Honoring versus obeying.
Another verse of scripture says: Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. -Ephesians 6:1. Obeying is complete submission while honoring our fathers is how we treat them as human beings. We are to be loving, kindhearted and show them respect.
We have the example of David as a young man living in the home of King Saul. Although he was abused, he loved Saul dearly. David never dishonored his father even when he had the opportunity to take Saul’s life. God proclaimed David to be a "man after his own heart" because he loved and honored to his father.
Fathers, you are honored today as the Providers, Protectors and Preparers of your children. It's a great and honorable task to which God has called you. You are the keepers of the gates of your families. Those who falter in this responsibility are no less worthy, because in God’s sight He chose you for this role. We encourage you to be tenacious and willing to serve as the fathers God created you to be. Fathers, you are truly loved and appreciated for all you do.
HAPPY FATHERS DAY to all the awesome dads in CAAAI, in our communities, and around the world.
Submitted by -
Grace Syfox, Lay Minister - CAAAI
