Fatherhood a divine gift

For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.

Ephesians 3:14-15 

A blessed Father’s Day!

Fatherhood has not received much positive press in recent years. With the continuing devaluation of the family defined as mum, dad and kids, the necessity of fatherhood is even questioned by many within our society. At times, I have heard fatherhood being mocked because of people’s bad experience with fathers, and its value assessed by how well men live up to the expectations associated with this primary vocation.

But this is to fall into the trap of assessing a divine gift on the basis of human frailty and robs us of the joy of knowing the good and blessing God intends for us in His creation of fatherhood.

Some of you had the privilege of meeting Rev. Jeffrey Hemmer at Creative Word Fellowship events in 2023. In his excellent book Man up!’ (1), Pastor Hemmer points out that, “God the Father is eternally Father. The Son of God is eternally Son… There was never a time when the Son did not exist. This relationship is older than creation itself. Fatherhood is older than time. And fathers can understand their calling to be fathers only in light of the eternal relation of the Father to His Son.”

As Hemmer reflects on the verses from Ephesians 3 above, he reminds us that “[t]he apostle’s point is not that earthly fatherhood gives us a helpful metaphor by which we can understand the relationship between divine Father and Son. It’s that every earthly father derives his identity as father not from the gift of children, but from the nature of God the Father Himself.”

So, to all you dads reading this, that means your calling as a father is a divine gift to those you serve in your family, and a blessed responsibility for you as a father. Your wife and children need you. They need you to love and serve them as our Heavenly Father has served us. They need you to lead with love and mercy, putting their needs above your own. Providing for them in good times and bad, not just physically, but especially spiritually, as you take the lead in teaching your children, leading your family in prayer and praise and constantly pointing them to Jesus.

As I type these words, I have to confess that I am overwhelmed by a sense of guilt and shame because I know I have failed miserably in all these areas. My own fatherhood is not a scratch on how my Heavenly Father has loved and served me in Christ and it is a miracle that our kids have turned out so wonderfully given my many failures.

And yet despite our failings, God does not give up on fatherhood. Instead, He offers us forgiveness in Christ and continues “to provide for us out of fatherly and divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me” (Small Catechism, First Article). In Christ you are forgiven for failing to be the father you are called to be, and in Christ, you are empowered by the Holy Spirit to grow more and more into this vocation for the sake of those you serve.

For those who have suffered under abusive fathers, please be assured your Heavenly Father longs to fill that void with His perfect love and mercy for you in Christ. Your experience is not what God intended for you but He remains ready to receive you with outstretched arms and an eternal embrace.

To the Christian fathers reading this, I know you will not get it right all the time. But as you live with your wife and children, confessing your sins and seeking their forgiveness when you have failed them, you will be accomplishing God’s purpose as you powerfully model the reality that we are all dependent on God’s mercy in Christ.

Father’s Day is a good day to remember that our Heavenly Father has loved and served us perfectly in the sending of His Son to secure us forgiveness and life with Him forever. But it is also a good day to remember and give thanks for the gift of earthly fathers, who despite their failings, are intended as a divine gift and blessing to us all.

God the Father bless all earthly fathers that they may be a sign to us of the love of the only truly perfect Father (Matthew 5:48) who gave His only Son, that we might be His children for all eternity.

by Pastor Matt Anker
President, LM-A

(1) Hemmer, Jeffrey, Man Up! The Quest for Masculinity (p. 225), Concordia Publishing House. Kindle Edition.