When you become a parent, it is for many an experience of immense joy. You receive this special gift of a child full of promise and possibility and with this new life comes the responsibility to care, nurture, protect and guide this child.  In our Christian faith, fatherhood is a theme deeply rooted in the Bible and fathers are not only tasked with seeing to the material needs of their children, but importantly their spiritual needs as well.

Fathers throughout the Bible are not portrayed without fault as they are human.  However, we are able to witness men who learned to walk with God through life’s complexities. They show us the importance of faith, responsibility, humility and repentance. We can look at Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, who, with great compassion and integrity, not only accepted and obeyed God’s command to take Mary as his wife after she conceived Jesus through the Holy Spirit; he also protected her and Jesus as he took them to Egypt to escape from Herod. We also see Abraham, who showed great faith and obedience when tested by God, willing to sacrifice his son Isaac, demonstrating that fathers should lead with faith and trust in God, understanding that no matter the circumstance, He will provide.

I believe a father’s greatest role today is to help his children learn how to negotiate life – survive in a world that seems to be largely uncaring, narrow-minded and more concerned with getting than giving; where there is great hostility, impatience and anger; where children are lured into maladaptive behaviours and seek rewards through scheming rather than hard work. To counter this, fathers need to help children learn to reason, to choose activities which build them up, to understand the value of working to achieve desired goals, to be honest and trustworthy, to be peacemakers instead of ‘violence producers’.

In Ephesians 6:4 we read “And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord”. This is a role assigned to you by God when he gave you the awesome opportunity to be a father. It means developing healthy relationships, with your children built on a foundation of love, trust and acceptance.  It is acknowledging that you are a model for your child, and children live what they learn.  Every father wants his child to be successful and much of this can only be achieved through the foundation that is laid for them.

As we celebrate Father’s Day, let us take a moment to celebrate the many awesome, dedicated and nurturing fathers in our congregation, those who not only “father” their own children but also do their best to impact the lives of children around them in positive ways. May we continue to lift up our fathers in prayer, salute their sacrifices and dedication and continue to build on their legacies of love and faithfulness.

Happy Father’s Day. May you continue to enjoy this wonderful job you have—guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Vanessa Reid-Pringle

St. Luke’s Church