Father’s Day is no big deal. Really. Mother’s Day is a big deal and rightfully so. Mother’s Day is one of the most attended church services each year. Father’s Day, on the other hand, not so much. Mother’s Day should be a big deal. In all honesty, mom’s do so much of the heavy lifting. Moms carry the child, labor to bring the child into the world, and moms, for the most part, make sure that the child is wearing clean underwear when they leave the house.
Father’s Are a Big Deal
Father’s Day is not a big deal, however fathers are a big deal. The impact of my father and his father on my life cannot be underestimated. My grandpa Henson became a father well before his time. My grandfather’s father was not present. The Great Depression pressed him into service. When He finished the eighth grade he lied about his age and went to work on the railroad. He went to work to take care of his brothers. Instant fatherhood. I can tell you unequivocally that my grandpa was the wisest eighth grade graduate that ever walked on this dirt.
A Father’s Priorities
Every day I wake up thankful. I am thankful that Jesus and the church were my grandpa’s and my dad’s priorities. Marriage was a big priority. Family was a big priority. My dad and his dad believed that the success of marriage and family and career, for that matter, were dependent upon a relationship with Jesus and a connection and involvement in a local church. I can make a very good argument that the state of our culture can be traced to fathers who care little for Jesus and His church. Make no mistake. The current state of the world has more to do with dads than it does politics. If we look for political answers to spiritual problems we will always come to the wrong conclusion. I love this quote by Christoper Moltisanti in the Sopranos, “There is no chemical solution to a spiritual problem.” Likewise, there is no political solution to a spiritual problem.
Our Greatest Need
I am going to sound like an old school preacher. Don’t tell anybody, but that is kind of what I am. Nonetheless, our greatest need is Jesus and our second greatest need is dads that love Jesus. If you are a dad, if your reading this, love Jesus, love your kid’s mom, and love and lead your kids. Make every day Father’s Day. Be your kid’s dad every day. Your home and the church and our culture depends on it. Father’s Day is not a big deal, however fathers are a big deal. Our very existence and our society depends on dads coming up big.
