There are all kinds of fathers. Images of fathers in our culture are often less than flattering. They may be bumbling, they may be predatory, they may be angry, they may be oblivious, and they are often absent from their families. Unfortunately, those aren’t just images from media. Often they reflect what really is happening in our culture.
I thank God that both Tara and I have good fathers. Happy Father’s Day, Granddad and Papaw. We love you. (The pics in the top left and bottom right include pics of our dads.)
I also am so grateful God blessed me to be a dad. In fact, even as I was writing this post, my children have been coming in wishing me a Happy Father’s Day and bringing me homemade cards! 
I also praise God that He is not only my God and King. He also chose to be my Father. He is my daddy. We often confuse Who God Is based on the failings of the father figures in our lives. The truth is far from that. God is infinitely holy, loving, kind, good, merciful, just, faithful, generous, forgiving and unchanging and there is no rational reason to believe that our heavenly Father will ever fail us.
Whereas we may experience earthly fathers who withheld, were angry, left us, were overly controlling, were passive, or who never approved of us, God is always faithful, loving, everpresent, gracious, generous, wise, and came to earth to give His life for ours. The more we live out our lives believing this fundamental truth, the more like Him we will become. The more we hang on to unforgiveness and bitterness because of the mistakes of father figures in our lives, the more we will continue to fail to understand Who God really Is.
On this Father’s Day I hope you can step forward by letting go of past failures and hurts, laying them at a faithful Father’s feet, the only Father who ever gave everything to provide for His children. Let’s celebrate this Father’s Day by embracing the best Daddy of all, God, the Father, and His ways of forgiveness, relationship, reconciliation, and unity in Jesus. By doing so I know you will have a truly happy Father’s Day.
