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The difference a father makes |
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Wednesday, 11 June 2008 |
Rev. John C. Blackford
Religion Columnist
Next Sunday will be Father’s Day, an observance that began in our country ninety-nine years ago. Believing in the need for a special time to honor fathers, Mrs. John Bruce Dodd of Spokane, WA in 1909 persuaded the ministerial society of her city to salute fathers with church services annually.
The idea spread, and in 1916 was officially approved by President Woodrow Wilson. In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge recommended national observance of the occasion “to establish more intimate relations between fathers and their children, and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations.”
Today the red or white rose is the official Father’s Day flower.
Father’s Day reaches deeply into the basic institution of society, the home. The father in the home influences both sons and daughters, but the primary concern today of those who study these matters is his relationship with male children. Dr. Meg Meeker, who several years ago wrote a book, Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters, has recently released a new book, Boys Should Be Boys.
In it she states that it takes a man to raise a man, and that he gives a son security by being authority and protector. More specifically he needs three gifts from his dad: his blessing, his love and the way to self-control.
Dr. Meeker acknowledges that if there is no father in the home, the mother and other adults in the boy’s life should help him to find a role model, perhaps a stepfather, uncle, coach or pastor.
In Deuteronomy 6:7 the writer, in speaking of great moral truths, says, “Impress them on your children. Talk about them...at home.” In Ephesians 6:4 we read, “Bring (your children) up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”
In her book Dr. Meeker mentions the principle that children spell love “T-I-M-E.” Love is not always an emotional feeling. Sometimes it is time-consuming and hard work.
If one is not able to include a child in a hobby or other special interest, put it aside and spend some time with your child in some activity in which the child may be interested. It can be most rewarding!
At the Doug Gabriel show in Branson last Christmas, Gabriel shared this Christmas memory along with his songs.
His young children had spent the morning playing with new toys and enjoying each other’s company. The newness of the toys wore off, and he began wrestling with one of his boys on the living room floor. The young lad “won” the battle, and as he sat on his dad’s prone body; he giggled and said, “You know what, Daddy? You’re my favorite toy!”
Fathers too often underestimate the significance of their role in the lives of their children.
Experts in the field of child psychology tell us that a father, or at least a positive male role model, is essential if boys and girls are to grow up with a balanced view of life.
On this Father’s Day, amid the celebration honoring Dad and the home, it will be helpful for the men of our nation to consider again how vital we are to the future of our children.
One father wrote of his sense of accountability, and said, “It is my desire for the Lord to use me to raise up the foundations of many Godly generations.”
May that be the hope of great numbers of American men.
Acknowledgments: Articles from the American Family Association Journal, June, 2008.
The New International Version of the Bible.
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