CHRISTIAN COMMENT Perfect example of a father

Here are some collected thoughts about being a father;

Sherman made the terrible discovery that men make about their fathers sooner or later... that the man before him was not an aging father but a boy, a boy much like himself, a boy who grew up and had a child of his own and, as best he could, out of a sense of duty and, perhaps love, adopted a role called Being a Father so that his child would have something mythical and infinitely important: a Protector, who would keep a lid on all the chaotic and catastrophic possibilities of life – Tom Wolfe, The Bonfire of the Vanities.

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years – Author unknown, commonly attributed to Mark Twain .

A father carries pictures where his money used to be – Author Unknown.

Fathers, do not nag your children. If you are too hard to please, they may want to stop trying – Colossians 3v21 NCV.

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body – Elizabeth Stone

The Spirit we received does not make us slaves again to fear; it makes us children of God. With that Spirit we cry out, “Father.” – Romans 8v15 NCV First Embrace by: Sang Le – A young man was struggling hard on a dirt road to keep up his pace on a very hot day. He looked like he had not taken a bath for a long time. From the look of his dirty, tattered clothes and his bare feet, one could say that he was a homeless person. He pressed on with heavy breathing and occasionally stopped to wipe the sweats off his forehead. Dried and thirsty as he was, he did not take a detour to find a drink of water.

He then slowed down and came to a complete stop, putting his hand above his eyes to see who was standing far ahead of him. It was an old man of rather high social status. Even on such a hot day, the old man had put on his best outfit and was very well-groomed. He patiently stood there waiting in the middle of the dirt road. It could have been hours...

The young man gathered whatever strength he had left and ran toward the old man with great emotions. He stopped right in the front of the old man, gathered his composure and whatever dignity he had left. He was speechless... His eyes met the old man’s, begging for forgiveness. The old man said nothing, although tears were rolling down on his face already. He simply extended his welcome to the young man with opened arms. It had been a long time since someone embraced the young man with genuine love, but this time, it was even more, because it was the embrace of a father to his son who was once lost and now has found his way back.

As fathers we can learn so much from the story of the prodigal son, God our Father forgives all who ask, perhaps our most important act as a father is also to forgive.

By Ravi Sangra